


Overcoming Me

by RTSideStories



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Claudia Stilinski, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, F/M, Gen, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Trans Character, modernized beauty and the beast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 09:54:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 105,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3170564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RTSideStories/pseuds/RTSideStories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles and his parents have just moved to the small town of Beacon Hills after "the incident" at his last school.  All he wants is his privacy, his self-respect, to forget about his ex, and for everyone to just leave him the hell alone.  Though like with most things in his life, he never actually gets what he wants.<br/>Instead, he's got a circle of people who are WAY too interested in him, an overprotective meat-shield known as Derek Hale, and a school full of WEIRDOS.<br/>Just what he needed.  MORE attention.</p><p>(Or the modernized version of beauty and the beast with a trans!ftm!Stiles, a cursed beacon hills, and Claudia Stilinski being the central parenting figure.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Beacon Hills, a small town out in California was a brand new world to behold.

Instead of the near unbearable heat of extreme Southern California, Beacon Hills was a much milder climate north of the state.

In a solid red athletic hoodie and leather messenger bag, Stiles Stilinski reached into the air as he stretched out of his jeep.  Or at least, he did with his one good hand.  The other was in a cast and fairly cumbersome sling.

His head was a short buzzed, almost military like, copper brown cut, which let the October chill rush straight to his skin.

The hoodie dwarfed his slim figure, covering his groin from sheer volume.   He'd lost a lot of weight in the past few months, so it wasn't all that surprising.  Even his skinny jeans could barely stay up, supported by a massive belt.

“Thanks for the ride,” Stiles said, throwing his bag across his chest, careful not to mess with the cast.

"Stiles?  Do you want me to walk in with you?  For the...  You know, scheduling and talks.  I wouldn't mind," a woman with long blonde hair asked.  She'd been in the driver's seat, practically chauffeuring Stiles everywhere since the arm break.  Her usually cascading blonde hair was up in a bun, to go with her medical scrubs.   She'd been hired officially as an ER surgeon, but was actually going to be the hospital's one and only cosmetic surgeon on staff for severe injury cleanup.  Dr. Stilinski had given up a remarkable practice in Southern California when they moved.  She was one of the best, and Beacon Hills didn't know how lucky they were.

Stiles thought momentarily on the offer, and almost took it, watching the dozens of students already chatting as they made their way to the glass entrance.

Eventually, he shook it off.

"That's okay mom.  You've got to start your shift at the hospital.  If I can't handle this, then what was the point moving here?" Stiles retorted, rubbing the back of his head exasperatedly.

Claudia meant well.  She always had, because that's just what moms did. Still, at some point, Stiles knew he'd have to fight his own battles.  Especially his sophomore year of high school.  Having one's mother come in by that age?  Well, it was a one way ticket to the nerd kingdom or getting shafted down the social ladder even farther than "new kid" status.

His mother nodded.  "Okay then.  Your father will pick you up after school, and I'll see you tonight when my shift is over.  Be safe!” Claudia said, waving as Stiles shut the door behind him.  He turned away, facing the Beacon Hills High School.  

 _“You can do this…  Nobody knows you.  Just get in, blend into the scenery, and you’ll be out in two years.  Then, you don’t ever have to worry about anything ever again,”_ Stiles thought to himself as he crossed the blacktop.  

It didn’t take long for him to reach the front door, which strangely enough, some blonde guy with expensive looking GQ clothes opened for him.  He had the whole “tanned jock god” vibe going, or the “I could be a male model” bullshit.  Stiles wished he looked that good.  

“You new?” the kid asked brazenly.

Stiles nodded, trying to smile for the polite gesture.  “Yes, thank you,” he said, moving through the door and attempting to remember which way the main office was.

“You’re uh…  The sheriff’s kid, right?  My dad’s the town lawyer.  Oh, I’m Jackson Whittemore, by the way.  My dad says your dad is like Super Sheriff or something?,” the kid said, following behind Stiles.

“Oh…  Nice to meet you,” Stiles said, not making eye contact as he walked through the long hallways, passing in between students that were already at their lockers.

He really didn’t want to talk about his dad.  John Stilinski had been one hell of a Sheriff where they’d lived, managing an office and being weeks away from transferring to the Special Victims Unit in the nearby city, where he’d be the new lead detective and run their entire department.  He’d made his life goals come true and was inches away from his dream, but now that they’d moved, he’d become a replacement Sheriff for a small town who didn’t have enough common sense to audit a Sheriff's expense account (thus the need for a new Sherriff).  The move was insulting to his father and to his skills.  Stiles hated that he'd ruined his dad's career.

Jackson caught up to his pace, walking backwards as he made himself comfortable in front of Stiles.  “If you’re looking for the office, you’re going the wrong way,” he explained, pointing behind Stiles.  “Just follow this hallway, and you’ll find it,” he said.

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Stiles clutched the strap of his bag tightly.  Jackson was being just a LITTLE too nice.  Enough to be weird for a first encounter.  “Thanks…” he replied again, about to turn around, as Jackson grabbed him by the shoulder.  

“Hey…  You ever need anything?  Let me know,” Jackson said seriously, before patting Stiles on the shoulder.  “Okay, I’ll leave you alone now.  Nice meeting you,” he said.

Keeping his word, Stiles watched Jackson hustle out of sight.  Shaking off the weird vibe, Stiles spun around and made his way towards the main office.  

+

The receptionist/counselor for the main office (Because apparently small towns couldn't afford to pay for two separate positions?), Mrs. Victoria Argent, had been pretty helpful, all things considered.  She got Stiles put into pretty much the same classes he’d had in his old school.  The learning curve was a little different for their part of the state, so Stiles was actually a ways ahead from the rest of the student body.  He was a tad disappointed that Tennis was only offered in the Spring as an athletic course, and barely had a team, but Mrs. Argent was happy to put Stiles in a study hall until that time came.  She said it’d be a good way to get acclimated to the new climate and maybe get a good rhythm going.

After getting his class schedule, there was a thirty minute window until he would start at 3rd period Chemistry.  With the free time, the Principal wanted to meet with Stiles.  A common “new student welcome”, Mrs. Argent was quick to explain.

Which was how he’d managed to sit across a desk in a piss-poor state of an office, from a mildly overweight 30-something with a receding hairline.  The man, Principal Thomas, was reviewing his file.  Stiles wasn’t very thrilled about that.  Not two hours into his new life, and already someone was going to _know_.  
  
"Stiles Stilinski...  Ah!  You must be the new Sheriff's boy!  The city council was astonished that such a well trained officer wanted to come to our little town!   We're very greatful!" Principal Thomas announced, finally looking up from the file.

"Yes sir," Stiles answered dully.  

"Not to mention Dr. Stilinksi!  Why, my cousin's daughter had such a nasty fall in her youth.  Wish we'd had someone like your mother back then! She could have really used a better patch job than she got.  We’re very happy to have your wonderful family here," he said brightly.

“Thank you sir,” Stiles replied, shifting uneasily in his chair.  Everywhere he went, somebody was content to remind him how he’d ruined his parents’ lives more than he already had as a child.  
  
Thomas went through Stiles' file.  

"Now let's see here...  Ah..  Stellar grades, you were involved in your old school's tennis team.  All state?  Wow!" He exclaimed.

Stiles mildly smirked.  He was the best on the court.  Period.  At least he might bring some sense of pride back to the family.  Fuck All State, he was going for nationals.  Eventually, Andre Aggasi would be kissing the rubber of his shoes.

"Now..  As for disciplinary reports, not that I expect you to be a troublemaker, but...  In your old school you-" he said, silencing himself as Stiles was sure he managed to read the police report.  The man's face went white, as a gaping mouth seemed to say it all.

Every little secret in his life, written up in less than a thousand words.  A piece of paper that literally could ruin his life at any given movement.

"Oh.   Oh I'm so sorry.  I've been out at a conference, and hadn't had a chance to look at this before you got here.  My condolences, Stiles.  That was just awful, you didn’t deserve to be-," Thomas said quietly.

Stiles shook his head, holding up a hand to stop the Principal from continuing.  "Past.  I'd rather move on and not think about it," he answered.

Nodding, Thomas shut the file.  "I understand. All I'll say on the subject is that Beacon Hills has a zero tolerance bullying policy.  Of ANY kind.  You come to me directly if there are any problems.  Though our students are very open minded, and we have a very active LGBTQIA club headed by the student council president.  Miss Lydia Martin is a very positive Ally," he said seriously.  

"Thank you, that’s comforting to hear," Stiles answered, hiding the sarcasm as best he could.  He wondered if the LGBTQIA club here was as big of a joke as the one at his old school.  His old one had basically just been a churchy “Ally” trying to convince everyone to turn themselves over to God to fix their “sickness”.  Still, he could at least observe.  He'd need club activities if he wanted to get into any kind of good college.  

Principal Thomas shut the file.  “Are there any special accommodations that need to be made?” he asked, nodding at the cast.

Stiles knew what he actually meant.  The man was just being polite.

Stiles shook his head.  “My dominant hand is right, so I can do classes fine.  I won’t need any special accommodations unless your school needs me to make some,” he answered, a little too bitterly than was probably necessary.

“We don’t,” Thomas answered quietly.  He was very uncomfortable, Stiles could sense that a mile away.

An awkward silence was finally broken by the second period bell’s ringing.  Classes were over, and students would be rushing to their next class.

“Well then..  My office is always open, as is Mrs. Argent’s.  If there aren’t any other questions, I believe Mr. Harris’ chemistry class is waiting!” the Principal said, trying for an upbeat tone.

“Thank you Mr. Thomas,” Stiles said, gathering his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.  He exited the room with due haste, crossing paths with Mrs. Argent as he exited the room and rushed off to Chemistry.

Mrs. Argent shut the door behind her.

“He’ll be the first one in our school’s history, you know.  We’ve had action plans and discussions, but…  Well, I guess we’ll see how well they work out,” Thomas said, rubbing his forehead painfully.

Mrs. Argent nodded.  “I have a feeling things will work out just fine.  Melissa McCall says her boys will look after him.  I assume the same can be said for Whittemore, Martin, and my own daughter.  Lahey too.  I get the feeling he’d like Stiles,” she explained.

Thomas glanced up from his forming headache.  “Does he have any idea?  About the school, I mean?  I guess the “students” would be a better way to ask about that.  Or was it genuinely an accident that the Stilinskis moved here?” he asked.

Victoria laughed quietly.  “A complete and utter accident.  I’ve checked them out, they are 100% human and 100% clueless,” she replied.

“Can Chris keep them safe?” Thomas asked.

“Of course he can.  He’s the Sheriff’s new deputy, and Melissa is Claudia’s coworker.  Everything will be FINE.  Just relax,” Victoria said, patting Principal Thomas on the shoulders.

+++

Locker 293 was the dumbest locker in the history of mankind.  It jammed constantly the entire day, stunk of moldy fruit, and was right NEXT to the Whittemore guy who’d stalked him earlier.  Not that Jackson was a pain in the ass or anything, in fact he was pretty helpful as a human map, but the whole point of moving to Beacon Hills was to be ALONE.  He didn’t need people anymore.  All Stiles wanted was to live in seclusion and not be bothered  
  
"So...  You do realize you are the talk of the town?" a deep voice asked.

Stiles mentally groaned.  Apparently living in seclusion was not meant to be.  Turning to the side, Stiles eyeballed the kid who had talked to him.  Tan, definitively a Hispanic heritage of some kind.  He had a nice body tone, without a doubt some kind of jock asshole coming to be a pain.  He was even leaning against Jackson’s locker in the “Sir-Douch-A-Lot” manner that Stiles ex-boyfriend used to do to feel intimidating.

"I don't know what you mean," Stiles said, hoping to not be bothered if he was polite and stayed quiet.  
  
The kid chuckled.  A warm kind of laughter that put Stiles mildly at ease.

"Well, let's list down the coolness points.  You transfer into a school two months into your Sophomore year.  Your dad is the town's new Sheriff, and you come to school with a broken arm.   The rumor mill is that you're some kind of badass motorbike gang member who got into a fight with Hitler,” he explained.

Stiles couldn’t help but snort.    
  
"I'm not, I assure you" Stiles answered immediately.  After slamming his locker shut, gathering his Chemistry book.  It was the only class he had homework in, and it was basically a review paper that Dr. Harris wanted him to work on to see where he was in the class.  The teachers, Harris included, were unusually comforting to him.  None of them gave him homework, and just asked him to “observe” for the first week, until he could get into a solid rhythm.  
  
"So what happened?  Trust me, you do NOT want the “school badass” label.  Because the real school badasses might come to reclaim their title,” the kid asked.  
Stiles rolled his eyes.  "Actually, I just fell down some stairs.  Cracked a few ribs that already healed, but the arm was pretty bad fractured," he said, trying not to relive that moment.  

Weirdly enough, the kid pulled out his flip-phone and started texting away with one hand.  “I wasn’t kidding about the school badass thing.  Thanks,” he explained, closing the phone as he finished what Stiles assumed was a text message.

Stiles blinked quietly.  He’d been SERIOUS?

The kid must have sensed Stiles’ apprehension, slapping himself on the forehead.  "Oh, fuck.  You probably think I'm a psycho," he laughed, holding out his hand to Stiles.  "Scott McCall.  Class ambassador to the new kids in our grade, and the lacrosse team's co-captain,” he explained.

“ _Well, I was right about the jock thing anyway,”_ Stiles thought to himself.  
  
"Stiles.  Stiles Stilinksi,” he said, shaking Scott’s hand.

“So yeah, uh..  I know school’s out, but I really should have found you sooner.  Sorry, I was dealing with some…  Stuff,” Scott admitted quietly.

Stiles shook his head.  “It’s okay.  Um, Jackson Whittemore showed me around.  It’s not that big of a-”

“Scotty!  Nice to finally see you showed up for class!  Coach was pissed, just an FYI,” Jackson exclaimed.

Stiles spun around, watching as Jackson began fiddling with his locker.  His hair was sopping wet form what Stiles assumed must have been seventh period athletics.

“I was BUSY, jeez,” Scott grumbled, folding his arms and pouting.  Stiles noted he had the appearance of a puppy dog, angry that it hadn’t been fed a treat.

Stiles stepped out of the way.  “Well, I really need to be going.  My dad’s-”

“Want to hang out?  Our friends are meeting at the local diner,” Jackson said, with a warm and winning smile.

Stiles immediately shook his head.  “I don’t think-”

“It’s right next door to the police station!  You could save your dad a drive and maybe meet some people!  Not all of us are assholes,” Scott exclaimed immediately.

“We’re all assholes.  Especially you,” Jackson said, grabbing his French book as he shot Stiles a glare.  “Listen, Scott and I were both the new kid here once.  We’re trying to be nice, because we know how much it sucks starting fresh.  There.  All cards on the table,” he explained.

Stiles thought about it for all of ten seconds before shaking his head.  “Sorry, I can’t.  Maybe another time,” he said, spinning around as he wanting to start making his way for the entrance.  Except that he met a brick wall, slammed into it and fell backwards on his butt.

“Ow!” Stiles said, rubbing his butt as he glanced up.  

He quickly realize that he hadn’t run into a brick wall.  Rather, 7 feet  of solid muscle, soft black hair, and a scratchy beard.  He was wearing a warm brown sweater and accentuating red scarf.

His face…  God, his strong face, those overpowering muscles, and those cold blue eyes.

This man was like his ex’s twin.  It took him several seconds to calm down.  Vincent would have rather died than EVER worn a scarf, it was too "girly" for him.  He'd even thrown away the one Stiles had given him for Christmas.  In front of Stiles.

 _"No..  DO NOT think about that asshole,"_ Stiles said to himself, feeling his one good arm shake in a rage.

“Oh.  Sorry,” the man said in a dull, almost bored voice.  His face, however, seemed to change as he looked closer and closer at Stiles.  He spun and faced Scott.  “THIS is the new kid?” he asked incredulously.  

Scott groaned.  “Yes Derek, this is the new kid Stiles.  Stiles, this is my older brother Derek McCall,” he explained.

“S..  Sorry!” Stiles said, grabbing up his bag.  He moved around Derek this time, waving at Scott and Jackson.  “Another time, okay?” he yelled, as he darted out of the school.

Left to their own devices, Scott and Jackson both glared menacingly at Derek.

“What?!” Derek asked snarkily, shooting them equally dim glares.

“Well that could have went better.  Goddamnit Derek, I hate you sometimes.  We were THIS close to getting him!” Scott mumbled, walking with Jackson as they both made their way for the school parking lot.

Derek huffed, shaking his head as he went in the opposite direction, towards the athletic building.


	2. Chapter 2

After SPRINTING away from Derek, Stiles was THRILLED that his father’s cop car was parked right at the front.  He pushed some flaming red haired woman that tried to get his attention, and slammed the passenger door before anyone else could could talk to him.  Appropriately enough, thunder rumbled in the darkening sky as he did that.

John Stilinksi, an aging man in his early forties with mildly graying hair, turned to his son with a confused glare.  

“Should I pull out a gun?  Taser?  Antique flogger?” John asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stiles shook his head.  “Just drive,” he panted out.

Nodding, John put the vehicle into gear and was quick to pull out of the school parking lot and getting back onto the main road just as the sky erupted with a downpour of rain.

“You okay?  You looked a little rattled.  Was there any trouble?” John asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly.  

Sighing, Stiles watched the rain pour out of the passenger side window.  “No.  Actually, everyone was way too freaking nice.  It weirded me out big-time.  Seriously, are we even IN California anymore?  Where's all the assholes?!” he answered.

“Huh,” John said, relaxing his grip as he stopped at a 4-way intersection.  A bus was blocking their way, letting a gaggle of children out by an apartment complex.  “You know, I felt the same way today.  Chris Argent, my Deputy, was over my shoulder all day long, making sure I had enough coffee and could find everything I needed.  Then there was Whittemore, the city lawyer.  He hand-walked me through all the current cases, and assured me that Deputy Argent could handle the old caseload, and said I should just start fresh.  Weird as hell, I’ve never met a bureaucrat that wanted to TAKE work,” he explained.

“Clearly, we have moved to Mayberry,” Stiles joked.

John snorted, laughing under his breath.  “Yeah, you got that right.  Less stressful, that’s for sure.  I may need to bring a book to work!” he joked right back.

Stiles’ face fell.  “I’m sorry dad,” he whispered quietly.

Groaning, John rubbed his forehead.  “Stiles, we’ve been over this.  I’m FINE with moving here.  I’d rather be here with a less appealing job than stay in a city that treated you like they did.  Your mother feels the same way, so quit looking like a kicked puppy.  WE decided to move.  Not you.  End of story,” he replied authoritatively.

Huffing, Stiles shook his head.  “So how was the station?  Up to your standards?” he asked.

John allowed Stiles to change the topic of discussion.  

“Very strict.  Apparently Deputy Argent was in the military and was in charge of most things, even when the last Sheriff was in power.  It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever worked.  Perfectly kept records, neat desks, and all the officers wear uniforms like Navy Seals,” John answered.

“I repeat.  Is it up to your standards?” Stiles said, with a smarmy voice.

John rolled his eyes, finally pulling forward on the road as the bus finally finished dropping the kids off.  “No.  I’ll get them there,” he answered.

Stiles smiled, hearing the excitement in his father’s voice.  He was a natural leader, and always wanted to bring out the best in everyone.

“Oh.  Was there any trouble with…  You know,” John asked.

Stiles laughed.  “No dad, no trouble with the “you know”.  I’m not even in Tennis until next semester.  Besides, it’s 7th period.  I can take care of personal needs at home,” he responded.

John seemed to ease his tense muscles in relief.  “Good… Good,” he replied.

+++++

The Stilinski residence, a quaint two-story Craftsman-styled home with dark earth tones decorating the walls and furniture, was about as warm of a home as one could get.  Pictures of the family and friends covered the walls, and homemade family quilts covered just about every piece of soft leather furniture.  

Stiles was sprawled out in his new home’s living room couch, filling out Dr. Harris’ review sheet while his head hung upside down off the couch.  His cast hurt in that position, but he couldn't concentrate in any other way.  It was actually pretty challenging, with double-negatives in the questions, not to mention the trick questions where there actually wasn’t a correct answer.  A person of lesser intelligence would fail the test.  

“STILES!  Sweetie, can you come help me out?!” Claudia yelled from outside the front door.

Ditching the Chemistry homework, Stiles jumped off the couch and ran straight to the door.  He pulled it open, revealing his mother and 5 huge family-sized pizzas from the local pizza joint.  

“Good grief, how much do you think we’re going to eat?  Dad doesn’t need this crap!” Stiles said, snagging the boxes of pizza and balancing it on his good arm so his mother could carry in the bottles of soda.

Claudia laughed.  “Oh, it’s not just for us.  One of my nurses that I hit it off with a while back during orientation finally got some time off, so I invited her and her family to dinner.  She said her sons were pigs, so she paid for the dinner, I just picked it up so she could get her sons from the house.  Can you go set the table, I’d like to get cleaned up right now,” she asked, throwing the soda bottles on the dining room table before jogging off to her bedroom upstairs.  

Stiles grinned for all of a second.  His mother was happy, so that was good.

Then?  It was back to pity-party.

Frowning, Stiles bit his tongue.  His mother was social, she was always the kind of woman who’d have dinner parties.  Still, this was the opposite of what he wanted.  Because NATURALLY, she’d probably try and let him make “friends”.  He’d already failed that afternoon at operation “leave me the hell alone”, he didn’t want a repeat.

Still, he did what he was told.  At least his mother made a friend, and he could stand a couple of hours of social warfare for her.

He put out the plates from the kitchen, snagged their plastic drinking classes, and pulled out the Parmesan cheese from the fridge.  Knowing his mother’s taste in dinner parties, Stiles even pulled out the Stilinski red tablecloth and draped it over their massive table.  It could hold up to 20 people, easily when pulled open to full capacity.  Stiles’ grandmother had hand-carved it ages ago, while his grandfather made the expansion parts.

Before he knew it, Stiles heard the doorbell ring after filling up the glasses with ice and trying to make everything look somewhat presentable.  

“Can you get that?!” Claudia exclaimed from upstairs.  He could hear the hairdryer going.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “YES MOTHER, I’LL GO MEET THE PERFECT STRANGERS!  DON’T WORRY, I WON’T TAKE THE CANDY!  I'M A BIG BOY!” he shouted sarcastically.

Walking over to the front door, Stiles opened it without thinking.  Had he been intelligent, he would have checked the peephole. 

Because then he would have seen Derek, Scott, and what he could only assume was their mother standing right in front of him.

 _“Okay, Karma…  Listen, I know you’re a real bitch sometimes, but this is SO not okay,”_ Stiles thought to himself, clenching a smile.

“Hey!  You must uh..  You must be my mom’s nurse?” Stiles asked.

The woman, with well-kept curly black hair, and a deep tan from her Hispanic heritage, was quick to come inside and hug Stiles’ neck.  

“Oh!  You must be Stiles!  Welcome to Beacon Hills sweetie, I've been dying to meet you!  Your mom has just gone on and on about you!” she exclaimed, pulling up from him.  “I’m Melissa, or Nurse McCall.  Just don’t call me Mrs, because I’m happily divorced,” Melissa said, stepping through the front door and signaling behind her.  “These are my sons, Derek and Scott.  Though I hear you’ve already met them!  I apologize for Derek's chest, I told him to get that thing checked out, it's unnatural,” she said brightly.

Scott moved inside, grabbing Stiles’ hand and shaking it firmly.  Derek moved right past him, carrying what looked like a strawberry cheesecake in each hand.  

“Melissa!  Glad you could make it!” Claudia exclaimed, jogging down the staircase with still-wet hair and fresh set of clothes, in a much less professional blouse and jeans than her medical scrubs.  

Derek and Scott moved back inside the house with Melissa and Claudia, where they all hovered around the table.  

“Well, let’s dig in!  It’s just us tonight, so eat all you want!” Claudia said, putting two of the boxes towards Scott and Derek, while the other three hovered around Stiles, Claudia and Melissa.  

“Oh?  Where’s John?  I was looking forward to meeting him too!” Melissa said, filling up a plate full of pizza that looked like it was for a professional football player.  Stiles couldn’t help but notice that Derek and Scott piled up as well, with more food than he could probably eat in a week.

“John had an emergency call he had to attend to.  A mild vandalism at the Hale House, I believe he said?  The officers were in an uproar over it, I could hear the swearing...  He’ll be home later tonight,” Claudia explained, as everyone finally sat down at the table.

Stiles popped open the soda top for the Mountain Dew, filling up his glass and then snagging a single slice of Pepperoni for himself.  “What’s the Hale House?” he asked.

“It’s a haunted house,” Scott said, complete with spooky hands.

Melissa rolled her eyes.  “Oh it is not.  It’s just…  Cursed!  That’s all,” she said, already done with a full slice and working on her second one.  

“Cursed?” Claudia asked.

Derek groaned under his breath.  “The Hale House is just a tourist trap because of that stupid legend,” he said.  Stiles noted how Derek seemed…  Angry?

“What legend?” Stiles dared to ask, turning to Melissa for an answer.

Melissa smirked.  “Oh…  Well…  You see, back when Beacon Hills was first founded sometime after the Civil War, there was a young man who owned most of the acreage that the city founders desired to settle on.  Some said he was descended from royalty across the sea.  His name was Lord Hale, even in those days,” she said, pouring herself a glass of cola.  “Lord Hale gave all the land away to the people of Beacon Hills, on the contingency that his family home remain untouched and that he pay no taxes and that the home be declared a historic sight that no government agency could ever tear down.  That would be the Hale House in town, which has stood ever since,” she explained.

“So what about the curse?” Claudia asked, clearly intrigued.  

“Well, unfortunately for Lord Hale, there was a local woman who was less than pleased about his charity.  In his act of kindness, he had failed to realize that he’d given away this woman’s land by accident.  Though it wasn't hers by law, she insisted that it was her home and her land.  Land that she raised animals on,” she explained, sighing painfully.  “The woman was an enchantress.  The enchantress Kaitlyn Reed.  Or at least, that’s how the story went.  In a fit of rage at losing her land, her “children” as she called the animals, and her home,  she cursed the Lord Hale and all who lived in the town that would later be known as Beacon Hills.  The locals call her “Kate the Snake”.  Some even say that her spirit still haunts the town, hoping to bring its ultimate destruction.  Wooooooo,” she said, mimicking Scott’s spooky hands with a goofy face.

Claudia laughed.  “Oh goodness.  Who makes up these sort of things?” she said, stopping as she finished her second slice of pizza.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “Must be a cash cow for stupid tourists.  Who’d actually believe a stupid story like that?  Please, sounds like the plot of a bad Disney movie,” he offered playfully.

The opposite end of the table went quiet, while Melissa fiddled with her slice of pizza.

Catching onto the awkward silence, Claudia cleared her throat.  “So…  Scott?  Derek?  What’s your idea of a fun night on the town?” Claudia asked, popping a slice of Hawaiian pizza in her mouth.  

Scott was already on his fourth slice.  “I’m a runner.  I do cross country to help with lacrosse, and I like to hike and do some parkour out in the woods for leg training.  Lot of good trails around here for any kind of workout,” he answered.

“That’s wonderful!” Claudia said, turning to Stiles.  “You do cross country for Tennis!  Maybe Scott could give you some good running spots!” she answered.

Before Stiles could articulate what a MORONIC idea that was for someone who wanted to melt into the shadows, Derek cleared his throat.

“Our friends go hiking on the weekends out in the woods.  We do trailwork and conditioning since we're all in sports.  It’s not all that cold for October, so we’re going camping next weekend to celebrate Halloween.  Stiles can come,” Derek said dully.

Claudia was holding back the urge to squeal in delight as she poked Stiles in the shoulder.  “Did you hear that?  That sounds like fun!  You LOVE camping!” she said, nearly twitching in joy.

“I…  I don’t know.  I’ll think about it!  Thanks guys,” Stiles said, biting off a mild bite of his slice of pizza.  He was still nibbling on his first slice, while Melissa, Scott, and Derek were on their fifth and sixth ones each.

Claudia kicked Stiles under the table.  Her son retorted with a kick right back.  They kicked back and forth obviously for a good minute.

“Oh!  I almost forgot, I talked about this with Claudia.  With your arm out of commission, I thought I’d offer my son’s services.  Scott is GROUNDED from his car, but Derek can drive.  I’m sure arriving at school with kids your own age would be better than arriving with your mother.  No offense Claudia,” Melissa said.

“Almost none taken,” Claudia spat back.  She turned to Stiles.  “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Claudia asked.

Stiles put down his half-eaten piece of pizza.  “Hey mom…  I think the good cutting knife for cakes is still upstairs in the guest room with the rest of our moving boxes.  Can you come and help me find it?” he asked, prodding his mother under the table with his foot.

“Sure thing.  We’ll be right back,” Claudia replied.  

Quickly, both Claudia and Stiles made their way upstairs and into the guest room, flicking back and forth with their wrists in a slapping motion as they ran. 

Stiles slammed the door behind them as they entered.  It was covered in unpacked boxes and junk none of them really had been bothered to get out.

“MOM, what are you doing?!” Stiles shouted.

Claudia sighed.  “Stiles, I know what happened at your last school was horrible, but you can’t just crawl up in a ball and die on the inside.  You’ve got the rest of your life to look forward to.  I’m trying to find you some friends,” she spat right back.

“GREAT IDEA!  Cuz it didn’t hurt enough when my OLD ones ditched me and acted like I was Satan’s shitstain!  Or, oh you know, MY EX BOYFRIEND THROWING ME DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS AFTER BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF ME WHILE MY OLD FRIENDS LAUGHED!?  YEAH, I CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT TO HAPPEN AGAIN!  I'M EVER SO EAGER!” Stiles exploded.

Cringing painfully, Claudia sighed.  “Stiles…  Not everyone in the world is going to be like them.  You can’t just shut your heart off, or you’re NEVER going to be able to survive in this world.  What did your therapist say?  What has EVERYONE who’d been on your side say?” she remarked gravely.  Her hand went on Stlies shoulders and clutched down.  “Your father and I have given you two months to recover at home and let you have some peace and quiet to get your head back in a good place.  But now?  You’re better physically.  Dr. Mom AND your therapist says it’s time for you to get better mentally too.  I’m not letting you get depressed and just feel sorry for yourself all the time, and I'm definitely NOT giving up on you, do you understand me?” she said sternly.

Stiles sighed painfully, he brushed off his mother, and started rummaging through the box labeled “KITCHEN CRAP”.  .  

“Mom…  I can’t go through that again.  How do I know I can even trust these guys?  Derek is a freaking CLONE of Vincent.  Scott’s a jock, and the Jackson guy is too handsome to not be an asshole,” he said, letting his mother hold him tightly from behind as she hugged him.

Claudia smiled weakly.  “Because Derek’s gay, Scott is bisexual, and their group of friends make up the school’s LGBTQIA club.  Scott volunteers at an animal shelter, and Derek mentors teenagers who come out and have bad experiences at the community center.  That’s how I know you can trust them.  Because they ARE good people," she admitted.  

Stiles turned up, clearly surprised.  He grabbed the baker’s knife from the box and stared at his mother incredulously.

“Stiles, did you really think that I was going to let you go off with complete strangers I’d known for all of a day?  Melissa doesn’t know about your secret, but she does know that you're in the LGBTQIA for a reason, which is why she told me about her sons and their friends.  She wanted to know that you’re not alone in this school,” Claudia said, pressing a gentle kiss on her son’s forehead.  “They’re good people, I promise,” she finally admitted.

Slowly, Stiles huffed.  He face screamed uncertainly.

“Please…  Please at least TRY to make some friends.  Let Scott and Derek drive you to school.  Get to know them.  If you want to trust them, that’s your choice.  But I think they’re exactly who you need right now.  Your father and I…  We don’t know what you’re going through.  Neither of us even knew your world existed until…  Well, until you told us about it, and even then I know we weren't the most supportive,” Claudia said, hugging Stiles tightly.  “These kids DO know about it.  They can support you in ways that your father and I can’t.  So please…  Just try,” she pleaded.

Stiles rested his head on his mother’s shoulder.  

“I’m not telling them, but…  I can..  I can try to make it work.  For you,” Stiles admitted.

Claudia patted Stiles on the back.  "How about you do it for yourself instead?  You deserve it.  Hell, you deserve more," she said, smacking Stiles on the back of the head as she said it.

"OW!" Stiles shouted.

"Don't kick your mother, it's rude," Claudia said, shooting her son a painful glare.

+++++

Melissa put down her cola on the dining room table.  She wiped away tears from her face.  Even behind a closed door and an entire floor away, the words from Stiles and Claudia had reached her twitching ears.  They’d reached all their ears.  They all knew.

“No wonder he’s scared.  Explains a lot.  Jackson said his heartbeat was like a rabbit getting hunted by a wolf when he just opened a door for him,” Scott said, as his ears stopped twitching.  Stiles and his mother had stopped arguing.  He’d, in turn, stopped eavesdropping.

Derek poured himself and Melissa a full glass of soda each.  “We’re not going through with it.  Not yet, not anytime soon.  We can try and get him to be our friend and ally, but that’s as far as it goes.  I’m not about to let the other factions get him, but…  We’re not dropping the bomb on him until it’s right.  I don't know what's his big secret, but right now, he probably needs peace and support,” he said quietly.

“I agree,” Melissa said, drinking down her soda as though it were a shot of whiskey.  “I’ll call Lydia and let her know everything, she should be able to assist on her end at school.  This should go without saying, but don’t let anyone touch this boy.  This isn’t even about our faction’s code of conduct anymore.  Somebody hurt this innocent boy and nearly made him give up on having a life, I am not about to let that go.  You have my permission to use whatever means necessary to keep him safe.  But more importantly?  Be his friend, he needs one right now more than ever,” she announced.

Scott nodded.  

Derek turned his head up, watching as Stiles and Claudia came downstairs from the second floor.  Carrying the baker’s knife, Stiles chuckled.  

“Sorry, I was supposed to help unpack better, but…  I’m a big ol’ failure!” he said, taking back his seat next to Claudia at the dining room table.  He began cutting into the cheesecake, not making eye contact.  “Oh, and uh…  You can drive me to school, I’d appreciate it,” Stiles said.

Derek’s ears twitched, catching the uptick of Stiles’ heart rate.  The boy was terrified beyond compare.

“We’ll pick you up at 7.  We can run through McDonalds and get some breakfast!” Scott said, grabbing his tenth slice of pizza.

Stiles snorted.  “Where do you PUT all of that?” he said, chuckling quietly.

The other end of the table went quiet again.

 _“Why do I seem to ask all the bad questions?”_ Stiles thought to himself.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles initiated an in-depth survey of the subjects known as Derek and Scott McCall and their level of assholerly.

Studies of Derek and Scott’s assholerly turned out to be negative after a grueling study of their actions spanning a week.

First impression of Derek was that he managed to be obnoxiously tall and muscular, while also maintaining a moody attitude 24/7.  Like he was a brooding soul who needed a cup of coffee just to stave off the demons that haunted his soul.  He was one haircut away from joining My Chemical Romance.

Then there was Scott, who had too much energy and was constantly making bad sex jokes.  He was definitely trying to compensate for being the little brother in the car, even though the age difference was a year, tops.

Thinking to himself, Stiles figured he could bare them on those merits alone.  They were tolerable figures, like annoying cousins.  People he could stand for a 20 minute car ride every day.

Though as he saw them more and more out of the school and out of the car, Stiles began to see the real them.  

Derek was a genuinely nice person, and was on the phone constantly with "his kids", the junior high and middle school LGTBQIA club members who were out of the closet and needed someone to talk to after a bad day at home or at school.  Stiles nearly fell over as a horde of small children came by and hugged Derek when they stopped by the one gas station in town.  He was even more surprised when Derek hugged them back, like a big teddy bear and then proceeded to buy them all sodas and andy.  It was the ONE time Stiles had seen that man smile since he’d moved there, and he wanted to see more of that.

+9 Respect points to Derek.

Then there was Scott.  Scott cared about animals more than people, as Stiles was quick to find out.  On more than one occasion, they'd had to stop on the way to and from school to rescue a puppy, cat, and one oversized iguana, only to them take them to the shelter that Scott worked at. The amount of baby-talking and care of those injured animals received in the car was like a father talking to their firstborn child.

+7 Respect points to Scott.

Though neither of them stopped there.

Stiles watched Scott cold cock a teenerage who was kicking a dog on the street and then proceed to take dog to its owner listed on the collar.

The icing on the cake that was his downfall to actually loving these guys?

Stiles and Derek had gone inside of a toy store with Scott, who was looking for some cheap plushies for the dogs at the Shelter to play with (and stay within a 10 dollar budget for their 30 something animals).  Wandering around, Derek overheard a mother verbally berating her son for wanting a barbie doll for his birthday.  

Before Stiles even had a chance to press in the password for the nuclear silo that was his mouth, Derek was politely and firmly pointing out to the mother not to treat a child that way, that interests in dolls was a completely ordinary thing for any gender to have, and then proceeded to shove a brochure about child care and the kinsey scale in her hands.  After all was said, Derek walked away, Stiles felt his brain melt that anyone actually would stand up for a kid like that, and that little Johnny got a barbie doll.

A+ for both Derek and Scott, that was for sure.

Unfortunately, they were jocks, and were definitely crude at times that bordered on uncomfortable, but was a kind of "nasty" that was tolerable.  All it really was amounted to teenage guy talk, but without the gay jokes or hate ridden speech he'd gotten used to with Vincent and his friends.

Then there was Jackson.  They met up every morning at McDonalds for breakfast, and Stiles had gotten a mostly favorable view of him.

Jackson was a snobby rich douchenozzle.  He had a family fortune that would make Midas eat his heart out and loved to flaunt it.

Though Stiles was okay with it.  He hadn't had to pick up a check for breakfast, lunch, or dinner since he'd started getting rides and hanging out with Jackson.  

Which was Jackson's real redeeming feature.  As much of a snob as he was, he matched it with his charity.  Jackson didn't know that Stiles knew, but Sir Docuche discreetly added funds to a few accounts in the cafeteria.  Kids that Stiles would later come to know as the poorest of the poor, barely having the funds to stay dressed, let alone eat.

Sitting across the McDonalds breakfast table from his....  Friends?  

 _“Holy hell, these guys are my FRIENDS,”_ Stiles said to himself, both groaning and feeling his heart flip backwards in joy as he realized it.   _“Just you wait, the curtain will drop any second now!  Everything will be over the second they find out.  Then it’ll just hurt more,”_ he told himself, sighing painfully.

Internal pain in the ass other self aside, Stiles had finally gotten mildly comfortable around them.  Enough to talk and gossip, and even share some mild interests.  

Which was what had Scott frothing at the mouth, as childhood tv shows became the topic of their early morning round table discussion.

"Dude, fuck no.  The mmpr white ranger sucks dick.  He loses his powers every other episode or is on some kind of ridiculous “quest”!  Now the Red Ranger from Lightspeed Rescue?  Actual hero.  Fireman.  Actual badass.  WAS GOING TO FALL IN THE PIT OF FREAKING DESPAIR TO SAVE THE WORLD.  TOMMY CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF!" Scott said, spitting out chunks of his massive breakfast everywhere.

Half of them covered Stiles' bare arm.

"Please say it, don't spray it!" Stiles said, wiping the bits off annoyingly while Scott apologized (still with his mouth full of pancakes and gravy, which EW,).  At least he'd finally gotten his cast off.  His new physician, Dr. Deaton, remarked it had been completely healed. Which was odd, considering his previous doctor said he'd be in it until at least December.  Must be the water.

Jackson sighed.  "Why even watch power rangers?  Digimon and Pokemon were on!  How can you not admit their amazingness?!  FREAKING WORMMON AND KEN.  NOW THAT WAS A COMBINATION!" He exclaimed, poking around his third bagel on the tray he and Stiles were sharing.

"Because unlike you and your obsession with shows about animal cruelty, the rest of us wanted to save the world and be badass fighters of justice!  Am I right?"  Scott asked, putting up his fists to Derek and Stiles.  

They both fist bumped with Scott.

Derek smiled.  “Still say White Ranger was best,” he mumbled quietly.  "Stiles?  Who was your favorite ranger?  Sorry, you mentioned it was your favorite show as a kid and then Scott became Scott and ran over your conversation with a steamroller," Derek asked quietly as Scott and Jackson started grappling across the table over the merits of Yugioh VS  Cardcaptors.  

Stiles smirked.  "Season 1 pink ranger.  Amy Jo Johnson could kick anyone's ass and still be pretty in pink and as girly as she wanted to be.  Gender be damned, she was awesome.  Close second would be Time Force green ranger, he was cool.  He was a punching bag all his life but never let it change who he was as a person, always giving everyone the benefit of a doubt and having a good heart.  Wish I was like that, to be honest," he said, picking up the biscuit and taking a massive bite.  

Raising an eyebrow, Derek smiled.  “Huh.   Never thought about them that deeply.  I just thought Jason David Frank was hot.  Actually, he turned out to be the reason I knew I was gay.  Still have the poster I got for my birthday, actually.  Dude is STILL hot.  DId you see his freaking MMA career?  Holy shit, he's BUILT,” he asked.

"You realize you're ruining my childhood, right?  Like, sorry, but NO.  Power Rangers are heroes of justice, not your spank bank," Stiles shot back.

"Someone hasn't seen Jason Frank shirtless," Derek said playfully.

Stiles and Derek both laughed, while Stiles started to cover his ears and try to block out Derek's descriptions.  

Derek took a long drink of his soda when Stiles finally uncovered his ears.

“So Stiles…  Tell me about you.  I haven’t really gotten to know you and you awesome nails.  Where’d you go to school before here?” he said, pointing to Stiles’ emerald green painted nails on the table.

Stiles tried not to watch his new friends all turn their attention to him.  Though he did smile.  At least SOMEONE noticed his nails.

“I uh…  I moved here from a town a little south of Los Angeles.  Went to a Private School called Lilyvale.  Went there since I was five, up until the first day of class my Sophomore year.  Things uh…  Things didn’t go too well, so my parents pulled me out of school and we moved here,” Stiles said.

“The accident with the stairs?” Derek asked.

Stiles nodded.  “Yeah,” he answered.

“What happened?  That must have really sucked to move all the way HERE from your school you’d been at since you were what, five?  That was your whole life!” Scott asked.

Stiles poked at his sausage biscuit.  It didn’t even look all that good anymore, despite his stomach screaming for him to eat more of it.  

“Yeah, but it was for the best.  Stuff changed between 9th grade and 10th grade, and…  Well, I guess my friends weren’t the people I thought they were.  Can I leave it at that?  I don't like talking about it,” he said, sighing.

The table exchanged various glances, and all seemed focused on staring at Stiles’ chest.  He’d noticed it was a weird thing they did.  Like they were trying to read his mind or something.

Derek nodded.  “Yeah, sorry.  Didn't mean to be nosy,” he answered.

Discussion pretty much halted after that as everyone tried to finish up their meals in peace.  At least, until Jackson started gathering up all their trash..  

“So uh…  So Scott says you like to do cross country and tennis!  I know it’s cold out, but how about we hit the court this weekend?  You could show us your stuff!” Jackson offered

Stiles shot his head up gleefully.  “No fucking way, there’s a court here?!  I looked EVERYWHERE for one!  Where is it?!” he screamed.

Jackson chuckled.  “It’s at my house.  My mom was an adamant player.  Actually, I’m pretty good at it.  Not like AWESOME, but it’s a good workout,” he said.

“He’s also got a pool for the summer and like the most kick ass setup for Halo and movies!” Scott said dreamily.  

“Their family even has a chef.  One that cooks for us.  One who cooks a LOT for us,” Derek pointed out, with his eyes glazing over.

Stiles laughed.  “You are NOT already thinking about dinner.  You just ate like..  120,000 calories.  Seriously, what is it with this town and eating!?” he exclaimed loudly.

“I think the better question would be why you eat like a freaking bird,” Jackson said, prodding Stiles’ concave tummy.

Stiles swatted his hand away.  “DUDE.  I am like 5’4 TOPS, fat does not look good on the short.  I do NOT want to gain weight right now, and I haven't been able to work out with the cast,” he answered.

Huffing as everyone stood up, it just made Stiles realize it even more.

Derek was LITERALLY 7 feet tall, or 6’10 at the shortest.  Scott was a few inches shorter than that, and Jackson was a solid 6’3.  His friends dwarfed him constantly and it annoyed the hell out of him.

“Speaking of workout…  So you want to come over this weekend?    You can sleep over Friday and Saturday, Scott and Derek do constantly anyway, even when I don’t want them there.  We can do Tennis, hike around the woods, and even do movies and video games and stuff at night.  It'd be fun,” Jackson offered.

Stiles’ heart thumped painfully.  

“I uh…  Well, I…  I’d have to ask my mom and dad first.  Dad’s real strict on curfew and junk,” Stiles said, mumbling out the best lie he could.

Derek looked away.  For whatever reason he seemed...  Hurt?  “Yeah, I suppose having a Sheriff for a dad would make life hard…  Anyway, let us know.  It’d be fun, you know,” he offered.

“I will,” Stiles answered back, less than convincingly.

+

Derek’s locker in the Junior hall was the single worst locker in the school.  It stuck, it got jammed and smelled of a used jockstrap.  The latter was probably his fault for not taking his lacrosse crap home the first weekend of school, but the point remained that the locker sucked.  

“Open up…  Fucking hell,” Derek said, shaking the lock repeatedly in an attempt to get it to unstick.  He had all of five minutes before Scott would be berating him to get to the Camaro and get home.  Allison was coming home from a hunting trip, and he just HAD to get to his girlfriend.  Which meant they were probably going out to the cabin in the woods to bang.   _Ew._ _  
_

Finally fed up with his locker, Derek huffed.  “Fuck it, I’ll pay the fine,” he said.

Like breaking a chopstick in half, Derek pulled the combination lock off and threw it across the hall as if it were nothing.  Satisfied, Derek shot his Earth Sciences book in the locker and tried not to smell too deeply inside of the confined space.

As a result, he didn’t detect when a hand patted him on the shoulder.

“Good ol’ Derek McCall.  How’s my favorite Night Faction buddy?” someone asked.

Sighing, Derek didn’t even half to turn around.  He knew that the punked up brown hair and pale face of Matt Daehler was behind him.  The kid who was a skinny version of Scott, but just as dangerous, if not more, given his status as the Cross Country team captain.  The kid was FAST.  

“I was doing so well today Matt.  Why’d you have to come and ruin that?” Derek responded, still fiddling around in his locker, hoping the asshole would leave.

“So sorry.  Actually, I’m not.  What I’m more interested in is if the Night Faction managed to get the little human into their circle of influence?  Or should I be making bets with the Star and Beast factions on how long he lasts in Beacon Hills?” Matt said with a quirky smile.

Derek sighed.  “If you MUST know, then we’re getting there.  At least, he he trusts us for the time being.  So yeah, he’s with US now.  Don’t fuck with him, Jackson’s got him low-jacked at the school all day long.  You try anything and we WILL know,” he answered.  

“I wouldn’t DARE,” Matt said, laughing quietly as he leaned against the locker next to Derek.  “I must say though…  He’s a very adorable bit of eye candy.  So unique…  I’m not a fag like you, but I must say he’s a looker.  Very different than the muscle buff guys the school is full of.  He’s so…  Feminine.  I can see why you’d be into that.  Did you see his pretty nails today?  They’re just…  So pretty,” he spat mockingly, using a high pitched voice.

Derek rolled his eyes, grabbing his Lit book and stuffing it in his duffle bag.  “Did you come here to insult my sexuality and Stiles’ respect, or is there anything else you need?  Because frankly, you’re not even a blip on my radar, and spending time with you is LITERALLY wasting my time,” he said, making direct seething eye contact with the asshole.

“Actually, YES.  Wanted to make sure you’re on track with the human.  I mean, I know Chris and Melissa are so adoringly overprotective of the parents, but really the kid’s the only one who’s going to make it in this city.  My father is interested if you’re ready for what that means.  If not, then I’m more than willing to-”

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Touch him and my mom will rip any of you Sun Faction freaks to death.  You, your father, or ANYONE.  Got it?” he spat back angrily.

Matt chuckled.  “Oh believe you me, none of us want the wrath of Miss McCall.  Just curious about something you Night idiots always seem to forget about in your self-righteous bullshit.  The full moon is coming in a few weeks, and my father’s wondering how you’ll keep the Sheriff’s family safe.  Can you keep them in blissful ignorance?  Or will they find themselves like us, just a-”

In a flash, Derek had Matt’s body slammed against a locker, with huge fangs sticking out of his gums.  “Dahler, if ANY of them get cursed, there will be HELL to pay.  You’ll have more than my mom to worry about.  I’m next in line to be leader, and you do NOT want me on your bad side,” he shouted.

Matt smirked, nodding to the left of himself.  

Derek turned, and was met with about sixteen other teenagers, ranging from Junior to Senior level that had assembled in a heartbeat.  All of them carrying the same Sun brand that Matt found himself wearing proudly.  On the other side, Scott, Jackson and several of their like-aged allies from the lacrosse team were lined up on the other side.  Derek spotted the crescent moon brand on one of the freshman’s hands.

“How about you put me down?  I can smell your human coming this way.  Wouldn’t want the awkward talk early, now would we?,” Matt said snidely.  

Dropping him immediately, Derek flung Matt across the hall and into the arms of his faction allies.  

“We’ll protect Stiles.  No matter what,” Derek spat.

“You do that.  In the meantime, my brothers and I will be having fun and not patronizing the delusions of someone who’d run screaming away from us once they know the truth.  It’s a lot less painful killing someone you don’t know, after all,” Matt laughed, as their circle dispersed away.

Scott stood right next to Derek, grabbing his hand and clutching it tightly.  “Don’t listen to him.  Stiles is not going to run away.  He’s not that kind of guy.  Mom says that Claudia is the same way.  Like they’re made of stronger stuff than a normal human,” he said quietly.

Jackson nodded, standing on the opposite side of Derek.  “I can tell.  He’s different.  My dad said that the Sheriff is smart enough to know that something’s weird in the city.  He’s already looking into the Game and Fish’s constant complaints and why they seem to get mostly ignored,” he answered.

Sighing, Derek shook his head.  “You both said the same thing about Danny and his family.  Just look what happened to him,” he said plainly, putting on a fake smile as Stiles made his way down the Junior hall where they met every day after school.

 _"Why'd you have to move here?  You deserved better....  You deserved better than me, my brother, Jackson, and this whole damn town.  F..  Fuck,"_ Derek thought, biting his bottom lip as he pictured Stiles' reaction.  The reaction of when he'd KNOW.

+

Dinner at the Stilinski home was always a family affair.  His mother started the tradition when Stiles turned twelve, hoping to keep the family together through the rather turbulent times they were going through.  "We're keeping the family together and we'll get through all of this together, for better or worse" she'd said way back when.  

Really, it had helped as much as she’d said it would, and Stiles was greatful for the hour long talk each night.    

If he didn’t have his parents, who else would Stiles have?

Nobody, that’s who.  

Stiles piled up a pretty hefty serving of spaghetti, listening to his father’s daily rant.  He’d never admit it, but he was just as much of a talker as Stiles was.

“So then, as if they were the Pope themselves, The Game and Fish Department called and gave me an ass-chewing.  Apparently there’s a lot of illegal hunting going around Beacon Hills, and the last three Sheriffs all ignored it.  They implied I was on the TAKE!  Not to mention the countless reports of huge beasts  wandering around the outskirts of town they say go unanswered!  They said it had to be either a bear or the biggest wolf they’d ever seen in their lives.  I’ve put a few officers on it, but I get the feeling that…  Ah, it’s best not to worry about it.  Though definitely stay away from the forests at night.  I was out with Chris one night and saw one of those buggers.  Like a small car with fangs,” John said, shivering as he scooped up  some sauce on his plate with an massive breadstick.

Claudia nodded.  “Oh goodness, he’s right Stiles, stay out of the woods WHATEVER you do.  I worked on a man today who’d been mauled to pieces about a month ago.  All I could do for the poor man is scar therapy.  There wasn’t enough skin left on his body to…” she said, shuddering.  “Let’s not talk about it, it’s the worst case I’d ever seen!” she said, shaking her head.

Dropping the subject, John started getting himself another helping of food.  “How’s school Stiles?  Is Derek and Scott still…  Working out?  I know your mother SAYS they’re nice, but we all know too well that everyone’s got two sides,” he asked cautiously.

Stiles nodded.  “Yeah.  Dad, they’re fine.  Scott’s nice and Derek’s like the king of the kiddos in the LGBTQIA club.  Jackson’s…  Well Jackson’s a-”

“A Whittemore?” John finished for him with a colorful smile.

“Yeah!  You deal with his dad, I guess you’d know.  Anyway, uh…  Yeah, the guys are nice.  They’re pretty good friends,” Stiles said, stopping his bite of food before he let it reach his mouth.

“Friends?” Claudia asked with a smug grin.

“Yeah yeah yeah, mom is ALWAYS right, shaddup,” Stiles spat, rolling his eyes as he brought a full fork and started chewing.  His dad’s pasta always tasted better than his mom’s.  It was weird, considering they always used the same ingredients.  Though it was nice, his stomach was starving.  

John smiled.  “You should invite them over.  Honestly, it hasn’t felt like home without your friends being loud all hours of the night after I-”

Claudia kicked John under the table HARD.  

“OW, SORRY,” John said, turning to Stiles.

Sighing, Stiles shook his head.  His mom was pissed, and he didn't need them fighting again.  There had been enough of that in Lilyvale.  

“It’s fine, I’m as over it as I could be.  At least school’s full of good people, and I’ve got a couple of non-asshole buddies.  That’s more than I thought I’d have,” he said, shrugging.

“Well I’m glad you’re at least trying to move on.  Oh, that reminds me, your shot is tomorrow, right?  Come by the hospital after school and I’ll give it to you.  You can take your Jeep, but I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind dropping you off,” Claudia said, returning back to her meal.

Stiles bit his bottom lip.  “Oh, uh…  Well, there is one more thing,” he mumbled.

John and Claudia gave Stiles their full attention.

“So uh…  They guys invited me to stay the weekend at Jackson’s house.  His family has a tennis court, and…  The allure of that alone is enough to make me consider it, I've been going stir crazy the last couple of months.  So I'd like to go.  Kind of.  Maybe.  Probably.  God, I don't know...” Stiles said quietly, as he pushed around spaghetti on his plate.

Claudia and John both stopped eating and turned to their son.

“Oh!  Oh that’s wonderful!” Claudia exclaimed, with a beaming smile.

John seemed to smile pleasantly enough.  “That’s good.  I think you should go, you’ve been cooped up in the house every weekend for the past two months.  A little social interaction away from your computer will do you good,” he answered.

Stiles dropped his fork, staring at his lap as he held his hands together under the table.  “It’s…  It’s not like I’ve done this before, you know…  I mean, since…  You know,” he mumbled.

Nodding, John rubbed his neck nervously.  “Stiles, nothing is really all that different.  I know it feels different, but all you’re doing is staying the night with friends your own age.  Your mother and I both trust you, and we trust the Whittemores and McCalls.  There’s nothing to be worried about,” he explained.

“What if they see?  Accidents happen,” Stiles spat.

John cringed, while Claudia gently placed her hand on Stiles’s lap.  

“Then we take things one step at a time.  Take your Jeep and come home if you’re uncomfortable.  Come by the hospital if you want to talk, and you can stay in one of the break rooms with beds until I get off shift.  Or I’m sure your father wouldn’t mind to see you at the office, he’s got a blow up bed there,” Claudia said, putting on the best smile she could.  “Though even if they did see, I don’t think that Derek or Scott would be the kind of people to react the way that Vincent did, do you?” she asked.

“No,” Stiles answered immediately, which surprised him.  The answer came quickly, without any kind of hesitation.  

 


	4. Chapter 4

The whole weekend had been planned.  After telling his friends that he did indeed want to have a guys weekend at Jackson's place, it was like Scott and Jackson had a firecracker explode in their asses.  Even Derek's face lit up, just like when one of his kids came up and hugged him.

The main plan was that Jackson and Stiles would head straight to the Whittemore house for tennis, while Scott ran and did his shift at the animal shelter and Derek ran a few errands for his mom.

Friday night would be a marathon of Xbox and movies.  Saturday would be spent out hiking and running with the guys.  Sunday, Stiles would finally get to meet Scott's girlfriend Allison, who'd been away on a hunting trip the last few weeks.  They weren't sure what would happen Sunday night, since Derek said Allison and Scott would be "hard core banging until the cows came home".  To which Scott immediately slammed Derek's head into his dinner.

Thankfully, the week was over, and the planning was done.

Stiles had packed his bag the night before, and it was ready in his Jeep.  All he had to do was get through the next four hours after lunch without vomiting his nervous everywhere, and he'd be set.

Though as he brought his homemade lunch to their usual spot in the Cafeteria, Stiles was surprised to see a new face among them.  A woman, with flaming red hair that cascaded down her shoulders, in a stunning pink top with atching khaki vest and khaki skirt, accessorized flawlessly.  Her nails were to die for.

Taking his usual spot by Derek, he didn’t interrupt a rather heated discussion going at the other end of the table.

“No, what I’m SAYING is that the Harvest Festival is HUGE for the whole town.  I’m sorry, but someone as busy as you shouldn’t be heading that!  You’re already doing the winter ball right before Christmas, the RC shit, and EVERYTHING.  Let someone ELSE plan something for once!” Jackson shouted.

The red head scoffed, crossing her legs under the table.  “Jackson, darling, if you ever doubt my ability to do everything I want, I’ll cram my heel so far inside your dickhole that you’ll pee blood for the next twenty years and never get it up again,” she said in such a sweet and loving tone.  She even smiled while saying it.  

Jackson threw his hands up.  “Whatever!  Fine!  I was TRYING to help!  No need to threaten little Jackie’s pee hole!” he shouted angrily.

“Little JACKIE is my bitch, don’t forget it,” Lydia spat, grabbing Jackson’s crotch and making the teen yelp loudly.

Mesmerized by what Stiles assumed was some sort of kinky 50 shades flirting, he’d barely even opened his lunch bag.  The show was actually pretty good, he wished he had popcorn.  

Scott finally nudged Stiles’ side.

"This is Lydia Martin, Jackson's girlfriend and what we assume is also his dominatrix.  Believe it or not, this is like the first day since you started that she hasn't had some kind of club meeting during lunch," Scott explained.

Lydia smirked.  "I apologize for not being a low life like yourself who doesn't want to amount to anything in life but picking fleas off of dogs and not actually giving them any standard of care," she spat back, in the nicest "fuck you" that Stiles had ever seen.

Stiles tried not to blush.  Lydia Martin was probably going to be one of his favorite people in the world, hands down.  Confident and badass.  That's what he wished he could be.

Stiles held his hand out.  "Nice to meet you!  You're like the class president of everything, right?"  He exclaimed warmly.

Lydia smirked.  "Same here, and yes I am.  More importantly, Jackson tells me that you're interested in joining our Rainbow Coalition," she said, returning to her sushi lunch.  Which, unsurprisingly, was enough portions to end world hunger.  At least she had the sense to be eating something HEALTHY.

"The what?" Stiles asked, trying not to smell her delicious lunch.

Derek sighed.  "Our LGBTQIA club is called the rainbow coalition, or the RC for short," he explained, going back to his massive steak that must have been a full cow at some point.

Beaming, Stiles nodded.

"Oh!  Yeah, I'd love to come!   Derek told me all about it, and I think it sounds great!  Mentoring little kids is awesome.  I wish I'd had someone when I-..." Stiles said, clearing his throat painfully and stopping himself mid sentence.

Lydia raised an eyebrow, but let the subject drop.  "Good.  We meet once a month at an old camping ground and spend the whole weekend out in nature.  Mrs. Argent and her husband chaperones.  It’s really good for everyone in the club, away from the world, and just among people they trust and respect.   Next one is during Halloween, you’re in charge of bringing chips," she said, forking several bites of her spicy tuna sushi Stiles' way.  "Eat.  You look half starved," she ordered.

Stiles, sensing the "eat it or die" vibe from Lydia, did as he was told and popped a few in his mouth.  They were divine, and he moaned at the mix of spicy sauce, the cut of the raw salmon, and the smooth avocado.

Jackson turned to Lydia.  "Say...  Has Danny and Isaac said if they're coming or not?  I haven't seen much of them at school, " he asked.

Immediately, Lydia shook her head.  "Danny is Danny, so you know why he hasn't come to school yet.  Isaac?   Well, who knows what he's thinking.  All I know is that he's not leaving Danny's side right now.  Bad memories," she said, sighing loudly in the process.

"Who's Isaac and Danny?  Friends of yours?" Stiles asked, turning to Derek for an answer.

Derek turned away.  "Isaac is my cousin, and yes part of our friends.  Danny?  Danny's not.  It's a personal matter I'm not comfortable explaining.  No offense," he explained.

Stiles nodded.  "I hear ya," he said, eating more of Lydia's sushi that she kept throwing at Stiles en masse.  "Anyway..  I'm looking forward to this weekend," he said, in actual eagerness.

Two weeks into school, and Stiles genuinely liked his new friends. Not that he was about to tell them about it, but at least he’d found some people he could spend the next two years with and have fun.  Scott was already planning winter break up in the mountains with the Stilinski joining his family, if that were any indication.

“You’re not eating,” Lydia commented.

Stiles immediately went back to his food, watching as Lydia eyeballed him.

“You and I are going shopping Sunday night.  I want to get to know you better, Mr. Stilinski.  I don’t trust just anybody to be in the RC.  Even if Derek and Scott like you, they’re not exactly the brightest bulbs in the shed,” Lydia remarked.

“HEY!” Scott and Derek said simultaneously, spitting out food as they talked.

Stiles snorted.  “Sounds like fun!  With Jackson paying all my food checks, I’ve actually got some money to spend!  My closet sucks right now, I’ve got like MAYBE 10 outfits tops,” he answered.

“Oh God, how do you survive?!” Lydia shrieked, covering her mouth in horror.

“The trials of being unemployed and getting 50 bucks a week for food and gas from my folks.  Lost my job after the move,” Stiles grunted, sighing loudly as he leaned on Derek’s shoulder for dramatic effect..

Derek rose an eyebrow.  “You had a job?  Where?” he asked.

“Flower Shop my grandma used to own in Lilyvale.  I used to arrange the special orders and deliver them since Grandma was old.  My specialty was roses,” Stiles answered, smiling fondly.  “Yeah, it’s not the manliest job, but I liked it.  It’s what my grandma used to teach me when I’d stay the night at her house.  I kept on learning, up until she passed away about…  Oh a year ago,” he said, frowning at the memory.

“I’m sorry,” Lydia said, covering her heart.

Shrugging, Stiles laughed.  “Nah, don’t be.  The last thing grandma ever said to me was “Stiles, if you cry a SINGLE tear over me, I’m gonna whoop your tail end till it’s red and bleeding!  You go on and half a good life now, I’m so proud of my strong grandson,” he said, putting on a old lady accent as he said it.  Though as he said it, Stiles wiped away a stray tear.  “Damn.  I miss Grams.  She was the only one who ever-..  I uh..  She was the only one in the family who actually treated me right, ever since I was a little boy,” he said quietly.

With the conversation tail diving into the depressive, Scott cleared his throat.  “Okay, so…  Let’s talk about sex.  69s.  Yes or no?  Cuz me personally, I-”

Lydia force fed Scott a massive roll from his tray to shut him up.

+

The day was FINALLY over.  The week of school was over.  Homework was minimal and could be completed on the drive to school the following Monday, because who actually did homework ahead of time?

Striding with Derek beside him, Stiles was trying very hard not to punch the smug asshole in the face.  A new game Derek had developed was using his height to an advantage, and using Stiles’ head as a thing to lean on constantly.  Which was what Sir Hunky Douche was doing that exact moment, and Scott was laughing his ass off with.

“Obnoxiously tall asshole,” Stiles said, trying hard to look mad as he walked with Derek leaning on his head.  Actually, he secretly thought it was cute.  It was a hell of a lot better than “keep away” that Vincent and his buddies used to play, even after Stiles asked them to stop.

Derek smirked, pushing off Stiles’ head.  “I’m not obnoxiously tall.  We’re beautiful in our way, cuz God makes no mistakes, WE WERE BORN THIS WAY!” he sang in an awful off-tempo version that would make Gaga gag.

“AHHHHH, STOP!” Scott and Stiles said in unison, as Derek’s bad singing.

The horrible singing stopped when the three of the reached Derek’s Camaro, and Scott threw his crap in Derek’s trunk.  “Kay, so we’ll see you tonight for Halo, drinks and manly movie marathon including Steel Magnolias!  Have fun playing tennis with Jackson!  If he throws a hissy fit, threaten to call Lydia on him,” Scott instructed.

Nodding, Stiles pulled his backpack off, carrying it in one hand.  “See ya tonight!  Have fun with with your puppies and kiddos!” he said, waving them off as he jogged towards his Jeep.  The only problem with being the new kid at Beacon HIlls actually turned out to be the parking.  Since everything was already assigned by the time he started school, he was stuck in the back parking lot with the freshmen, a million miles away from the school.  

So by the time he arrived at his vehicle, he didn’t think twice about checking inside before he unlocked the door.

He opened it slowly and immediately felt an impending sense of doom.

“AH!” Stiles screamed, falling backwards on his rear-end as he saw what was sitting in the driver side door.  “WHAT..  WHAT THE FUCK?!  IS THIS REALLY WHAT HAPPENS IN RURAL TOWNS?!” he screeched loudly.

A wolf, definitely taller and heavier than he was by no small figure, somehow managed to get into his LOCKED Jeep, and was sitting patiently in the driver’s seat.  Golden blonde from head to toe, not unlike a Golden Retriever, it was the weirdest looking wolf he’d ever seen in his life.  Though his tail was wagging, as if pleased to see Stiles. Even its tongue was out, panting thirstily.

Stiles looked around him, watching at the freshmen stared at the wolf in a mixture of awe and…  

A severe lack of surprise.  

“Stiles?!” Derek shouted, already having ran the distance between their cars in the parking lot, and standing between him and the oversized dog.  Derek’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Why is there a freaking WOLF in my Jeep?  HOW.  HOW IS THIS A THING?  THIS SHOULD NOT BE A THING.  I KNOW I LOCKED MY FUCKING JEEP, WHO THE HELL PUT A WOLF-DOG IN MY JEEP?!  THAT THING COULD EAT ME!” Stiles stammered out, pointing to the beast who had cocked his head at Stiles’ explosion.

“Dude what’s the-” Scott said, having rushed over as well with Jackson.  All four of them stared at the dog in awe.

“Really?” Jackson said, folding his arms angrily.

Stiles shook his head.  “Shit..  Shit, I’m calling my dad, that dog is NOT shitting in my car and I am NOT about to be a goddamn tasty treat,” he said, already pulling out his cell phone.

The dog whined at Stiles’ comment, flattening his ears out of shame.

Which Scott immediately snagged onto, laughing creepily.

“I uh… I mean..  WOLFIE!  YOU CAME BACK!” Scott shouted, rushing over to the vehicle and hugging the dog’s neck tightly.  The dog was not amused.

“Wolfie?” Derek asked, rubbing his forehead painfully.

“Dear God, you’re an idiot,” Jackson grumbled.

Scott patted “Wolfie” on the head.  “Y..  Yeah!  Wolfie’s a pet we had down at the shelter that ran away!  He’s a very smart boy, isn’t he?” he said, trying to baby talk the dog.

To which the Dog seemed to groan, much to Stiles’ surprise.  It was as if it were completely aware of their conversation.

Stiles stopped dialing.  “Scott..  You have a WOLF for a pet at the freaking ANIMAL SHELTER?  You realize that thing can just like gobble them up in a bad case of Little Red Riding Hood?” he spat, hiding behind Derek as the wolf jumped out of the car and sat quietly beside Scott.  Its tail was wagging, and it SEEMED innocent enough with its big blue eyes.

Petting Wolfie, Scott nodded.  “YEAH!  Totally!  Wolfie’s not like a wolf or anything he’s uh..  Dutch!  That’s it, he’s Dutch!  They grow big there!” he answered unconvincingly.

Wolfie nibbled on Scott’s hand, growling unpleasantly.

“SHUT UP,” Scott shouted quietly, in a not-so-hushed rage.

Jackson sighed.  “Scott take “Wolfie” and go to the shelter.  Come on Stiles, you can head to my house,” he explained.

Silently, Scott led Wolfie away with Derek, who seemed to be arguing with the thing, while Stiles turned to Jackson.

“Yeah, okay, did we miss the part where A GODDAMN WOLF GOT IN MY LOCKED CAR!?” Stiles shouted.

+

After calming Derek down, Scott drove Derek to his kids’ place around the Junior High, and Scott called into the shelter and let him know that he wasn’t coming in that day.  All he had to say was that the Beast Faction had showed up and they immediately understood.

Scott huffed, watching “Wolfie” slurp up a tremendous amount of water from an extra-large salad bowl.  He’d gone straight to his home, an old styled white-picket fence thing straight from the 1960s, complete with tacky kitchen tiling and orange carpeting.  

He didn’t even need a word to know that the wolf was dehydrated.  Running all the way from the local reserve area that the Beast Faction took up was at least a full day’s walk, or half a day’s run.

Folding his arms, Scott plopped down beside the beast and rubbed his head quietly.

“So Ethan, what’s got you back here?  Thought you ran off to be “wild and free” with the rest of the Beast Faction in 6th grade with your brother. Is shitting in the woods and being a dog 24/7 not enough for you anymore?” Scott asked, a little too bitterly.

The Wolf was actually Ethan Ellis, one of the Ellis twins that had been their friends growing up.  That is, until the Beast Faction came and made their “pitch”, snagging at least 9 kids from their grade, Ethan included.

Finishing up with his water, Ethan trotted over, laying his head down in Scott’s lap, yawning loudly.

“Awoowo” Ethan half-howled.

Scott rolled his eyes.  “We don’t have to tell you BF guys anything.  You’re off in the woods being full-animal all the time and a freaking full day away, so it’s not like we can come visit and talk normally.  Our needs and your needs are two VERY different things.  We didn’t have time, I’m sorry,” he answered, trying to pet out the cracked fur on Ethan’s back.  It was disgusting, and Ethan definitely smelled like wet dog.  If he was going to stay much longer, he was DEFINITELY getting a bat.

“Wo,” Ethan huffed.  

“Yes!  We are quite well aware that he’s human!” Scott fired back.

“Wooooooooaworoooo,” Ethan said, snorting loudly as Scott pulled out a mass of bristly fur.

Scott groaned.  “We’re going to tell him.  We’ve still got a week till the full moon, so our deadline hasn’t passed yet.  All I care about right now is making him as comfortable as we can, so maybe he doesn't freak out like Danny did.  It’s not EASY for us to tell people, you know?  We still have to retain our humanity, unlike you guys.  It sucks being one thing on the inside and a completely different thing on the outside,” he explained, rubbing Ethan’s stomach as he flipped over.  There were several thorns stuck in his fur, which Scott started to pick off.

“Grrrworoororoo.”

Forehead twitching, Scott laughed.  “Okay, yeah, then let’s do it YOUR Way then.  I can just SEE how this is going to go!” he said, clearing his throat.  “Hi Stiles, welcome to Beacon Hills, the town of Cursed Beasts!  Where the teachers are werewolves, the baker is a werewolf, your friends are werewolves, the plumber is a werewolf, and even the police department are full of werewolves who try VERY HARD to keep humans away from us!  But we’re not BAD werewolves or the SEXY STRONG werewolves like you see on TV, we’re just plain average WOLVES.  We’re just cute little puppy dogs who want to roll around and get petted and play fetch, like a goddamn animal!  Oh, and we’re all SUPER DUPER hoping that you’ll be the one person who can break the curse over our town and end our decades of suffering that our ancestors started by pissing off a super-bitchy enchantress!  Did I also mention our town is at constant odds with each other?  YEAH, BECAUSE MAKING FOUR DIFFERENT WARRING FACTIONS IS A TOTALLY NORMAL THING TO DO IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY!” he screamed, ripping a thorn out a little too hard than was necessary.

Ethan growled.  “RGRORORORORoooo.”

“I DID NOT TAKE DRAMATIC LICENSE!” Scott spat angrily.

Ethan, fed up, displaced himself from Scott’s lap and trotted away, slapping Scott with his tail as he left.  “Groooooooorrooooorrrrr.”

Scott bit his bottom lip.  “I know Ethan.  We all fucking know how much of a big deal this is.  His parents are already married, so it’s not like they’re going to fall in love with anyone here.  We’re leaving them out of it and trying to focus on Stiles.  He’s our last hope at this point,” he said, frowning.  

Standing up, Scott moved to the kitchen window, where he had a perfect view of the Hale House.  Ethan joined him by his side, whining painfully through his nose.

Scott rubbed his head.  “I know…  Life sucks,” he said grimly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait... Is that.. IS THAT ACTUAL PLOT DEVELOPMENT?! o_O JINKIES!


	5. Chapter 5

As much as Derek loved helping his LGBT kids at the Junior High, today was just not a day he really could do them any justice.  Ethan being there was not a good sign, and he could only wonder what his presence meant.

So he listened to them, their questions, and tried to comfort them all as best he could.  Especially Liam, a thirteen year old who was DYING to come out to his parents, but who had a very redneck father that Derek KNEW would not take it well.  He encouraged Liam to hold off until he had a more stable plan and a support network to help him in case of the worst.  

After their usual goodbye hugs and promises of “it gets better”, Derek had Scott come pick him up.  Then, just as expected, Ethan was curled up in the backseat.

Derek made himself comfortable in the driver side seat.  “Let me guess.  The BF are mad we didn’t tell them about Stiles, right?” he asked.

Scott nodded as he pulled the car into gear.  “Uh yeah.  Deucalion is saying the Night Faction is hiding facts.  Which is bullshit, because the Star and Sun Factions knew all about him, and Ethan’s already confirmed that and howled it off to his people.  Though I reminded Ethan back there that we’re NOT messengers.  If they wanted to get the latest gossip, they can come and get updates themselves,” he said, shooting and angry glare at Ethan through the rearview mirror.

“Woo,” Ethan grumbled, huffing as he laid his head back down on the backseat.  

“Now that was uncalled for.  Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Scott said, as the three of them got onto the main street and started the trek over to Jackson’s house.

Derek sighed, rubbing his forehead.  "Please don't argue in the car.  Is there anything else you need Ethan, or can you go back to the woods?" He asked.  

"Woooo.  Awoowooorooooo."

"You want to what?" Derek asked.  

"Woo."

Scott groaned.  "You are not sticking around here until Stiles finds out.  WE will call you when you can make your faction pitch.  Until then, go back to your people,” he answered.

“Woofoooroooo.”

“He’s got a good point,” Derek admitted less than thrillingly.  “If we do send Ethan back, it’s going to be Deucalion that comes to gives Stiles the pitch and he’ll try and do some more recruiting along the way with the kids.  Do we really want anyone else getting dragged off to the BF?” he asked Scott.

“No,” Scott admitted huffily.  

Turning around, Derek stared at Ethan intently.  “Then for the time being, you’re Wolfie, Scott’s pet.  Just act the part when Stiles is around and until we tell him the truth.  Is that acceptable enough?” he asked.

Begrudgingly, Ethan nodded.  

“Great!  Let the 3-ring crazy circus begin!” Scott spat, as the three of them drove into Jackson’s mansion of a home, parking behind the family porsche.

+

The Whittemore tennis court was pretty impressive, at least for what Derek’s two cents were worth.  Just like the one the school locked up during the off-season, it was well cared for with a bright red brick coloring.  The net was solid white, obviously replaced recently enough.  

Though it was a good walk away from Jackson’s main house, off in a secluded region in the woods.  So it wasn’t until he got very close that he saw the sight before him.

Jackson was in a pool of sweat on the ground, panting in and out, outside the court.  He had his shirt off, which was gleaming in sweat.

Stiles, on the other hand was playing somebody else inside the court.

Derek’s mouth gaped open as he realized who he was playing.

“Holy shit, is he….  HE IS,” Scott shouted, trotting behind him with a very similar look on his face.  

“Rooo.” Ethan commented.

Mrs. Whittemore was on the court, pounding a green ball back and forth with Stiles at Mach speeds.  Not only was Stiles keeping pace with of the stronger members of the Night Faction, but was…  Loving every minute of it.  Sweat, even in the cold of October, poured of Stiles, dotting the court with little droplets of his struggle.

Each and every serve from both ends was met with loud grunts, yells, and screams.  At one point, Derek saw Mrs. Whittemore’s eyes go red and gold out of excitement.  The kind of thrill their kind usually only got during hunts.

Stiles wasn’t much better.  The smell of over competitiveness was overwhelming, billowing off him like smoke.  His eyes were blown out, giving 100% to the match he was currently enthralled in.

Which became all the more apparent as Stiles slammed the ball just above the net, and sank it within inches of Mrs. Whittemore’s foot.  It spun off, angling away from the court and flying into the fence, leaving a dent in the iron wires just beside Derek’s head.

Stiles smirked, and Derek watched the human beam from ear to ear.  “I think that was game Mrs. Whittemore.  You had me going there for a bit though.  Nearly lost it on the top spin, I got a  bit lucky,” he answered.

“Mr. Stilinksi…  That…  That was AMAZING!  You’ve got a real talent for this,” Mrs. Whittemore said, tapping her racquet against her side.  

“All State last year, been doing this since I was a little kid,” Stiles explained.  He shook his head though.  “Though you were going easy on me, I saw you give up on some long dives you could have made.  Not to mention you were NOT hitting as hard as you could.  Rude, you know?  I didn’t even win fairly.  I mean, a win’s a win, but if I’m going to win, I want it to MATTER and EARN it,” he said smugly.

Mrs. Whittemore chuckled quietly.  “You were injured recently, it wouldn’t have been a fair fight.  I can tell your reaction times are off and you’re not as fast on the draw with backhands.  Try me again in a few months, and maybe I can go all out with you when you’re in full shape.  I warn you though, I’ll ruin you,” she said, smiling devilishly.

Derek chuckled.  Wolves were naturally competitive, wanting to be better than any other species out there.  Mrs. Whittemore was not joking. If Stiles went on the court with her at full strength, it would be Wimbledon worthy, and Stiles would probably end up getting smoked into the ground..

He turned to Jackson while Stiles and Mrs. Whittemore kept discussing tennis moves.  “What happened here?  I thought you were playing Stiles?” he asked.

Jackson laughed.  “Derek…  Derek, Stiles kicked my ass, and I actually TRIED.  Like full blown wolf energy tried.  He ran me all over the goddamn court, I could barely RETURN the ball for wanting to chase the fucking thing.  I have NEVER had a fucking workout like that, fucking…  DAMN I need a cigarette after something like that…  Or like…  FUCK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT, I am so effing pumped up right now.  But Then Mom saw it, and...  Mom..  Mom..  She was drooling at the chance to play that and kicked me off the court.  Then Stiles gave her a run for her money and she had to freaking TRY too!  Not like 100%, but…  Damn.  Mom was like…  Crazy.  I’ve never seen her like that before,” he said eagerly.

Looking back over to Stiles, Derek smiled.  The way he stood so proudly after such an intense match, pouring out dopamine like crazy and smiling to reveal some of the whitest teeth Derek had ever seen before.  This was Stiles’ element and his passion was beyond that of anything Derek had experienced.

“Woof.”

Derek turned to Ethan, who had taken up residence beside him.  

“No, no you are not allowed to think he’s hot.  I have a feeling he’s not into beastiality, Mr. fur-butt,” Derek whispered.

Ethan growled at the joke and bit Derek’s ass in the process.

“OW!  BAD DOG!” Derek said, kicking Ethan off himself.

“Is that the freaking dog that was in my car?” Stiles exclaimed.

Walking over to Derek, Scott, and Ethan, Stiles was watching the dog carefully.  Mrs. Whittemore eyeballed Ethan, clearing her throat as she walked by without so much as another word.  Though she did rub Ethan’s head playfully as she passed.

Scott nodded, petting Wolfie on the head.  “Yeah, the Shelter sort of wants me to watch him for a while.  Just to make sure he’s not like gone totally wild since he’s been away.  So uh..  I guess he’s my pet for a while, isn’t that right Wolfie?” he asked.

“Wolfie” shrugged, huffing as he gnawed on Scott’s hand playfully.  

“OW, STOP,” Scott said, pushing Ethan off him.

Stiles seemed to smile a little bit, bending down to Wolfie’s side and running his hands through the dog’s neck, rubbing it playfully and moving up to scratch him behind the ears.  “Aw, smart boy knowing that Scott’s probably a shitty owner, right?  Well in that case, you’re not so bad!  You’re not a nasty man eating beast, are you?  You’re a smart boy!  Yes you are!” he said playfully.  

Derek watched Ethan melt into Stiles’ arms, giving in to the unbearably amazing feeling that was getting scratched and petted while in their canine form.  He shivered, suddenly VERY jealous of “Woflie”.  Fucking Ethan needed to DIE in a painful flaming pyre of-.

 _“Wait…  What?  Die?!”_ Derek asked himself.  Catching his deluded line of thought, Derek looked away from the sight of Stiles rubbing Ethan’s stomach, which was already fueling another simmering rage in his stomach.  Why was he jealous?  It wasn’t a big deal.  Petting was platonic.  Not a big deal.  His mom pet people like Jackson all the time, and he’d never felt that way before.

Scott put his arm on Derek’s shoulder, gulping loudly, which snapped Derek out of the trance.  “I uh…  Dude, I gotta  not watch this or I’m going to shift and push Ethan out of his lap,” he whispered.

Clearing his throat, Derek turned back to Stiles.  Who, of course, was still petting and baby talking Ethan.

“So uh..  Stiles, you wanna go shower while the rest of us setup the games in the living room?” Derek asked.

Nodding, Stiles stood up from Ethan and stretched out.  “Hell yes, I smell like a goddamn locker room.  My crap is in Jackson’s room, I’ll head up there and hurry,” he said, nodding to his friends.  

Without much else being said, the group began the short trek up to Jackson’s place.

With only a mild interruption as Stiles threw one of his tennis balls into the woods for “Wolfie” to chase after.

Jackson, Scott and Derek all three had to resist the unbearable urge to run after it, nearly cramping in the legs and stomach in the process.

+

Ethan was hard-core dog flirting with Stiles, and Derek was on the verge of booting him out of the house. He wasn’t even subtle about it.

It had started simple enough.  Making himself comfortable on Stiles’ lap, who was THRILLED to have the dog love him (because of COURSE Stiles was a dog person).  Stiles quit watching the movie all together and began petting Ethan’s skull, neck and actually NUZZLING him in full body hugs.  Which was awkward, considering Ethan was actually bigger than Stiles.  

Jackson and Scott had to leave the room several times for “popcorn”, because naturally, they both wanted the same kind of treatment Ethan was getting.  Derek would have left too, but didn’t want Ethan getting “too” friendly.  The BF were notorious for letting their beast side run free and do whatever they wanted, consequences be damned.  

Derek and his friends, on the other hand, tried to keep a healthy balance around outsiders.  Having canine instincts and desires in a human body led to very painfully awkward situations that could freak most humans out.  

Though Ethan was just downright FLAUNTING it in their faces by the time the credits rolled.  His was licking over Stiles’ face, actually submitting to the human, who giggled at Ethan’s massive tongue.

“God, NO!  No tongue, EW dog slobber!  I swear, you’re worse than my ex-boyfriend on date night.  You’re cuter though,” Stiles giggled, pushing Ethan’s face away.

Derek rolled his eyes, finally frustrated enough.

“You know Scott, I think you ought to neuter Wolfie over there.  He’s way too playful.  Losing his nuts would probably cut that shit out,” Derek said, in the darkest voice known to mankind.

Scott cracked his knuckles.  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” he replied back.

Jackson whistled.  “That’s cold,” he said, laughing as Ethan’s ears perked up and he growled at Derek and Scott’s direction.

Stiles pressed a kiss on Ethan’s head.  “Poor Wolfie.  Are they being mean to you?” he asked, ruffling the fur around his ears.  “They act like you’re not a person.  Poor baby, don’t they know you’ve got feelings and a soul too?” he asked, as he let Ethan rest his head on Stiles’ shoulder.

Every heart in the room thudded loudly.

“What’d you say?” Derek asked, switching off the TV.

Stiles just shrugged.

“I mean…  I had a dog once, a Cocker Spaniel named Lucy that my mom had when she was in college.  Even though she was “just a dog”, you could tell she had a soul, you know what I mean?  Hell, I think all animals are like that way.  Just because we don’t understand them or know what they’re saying doesn’t mean they have their own standard of living or that they don’t know what we’re saying!” he exclaimed, sighing painfully.  “Like…  She got scared during thunderstorms and would sleep in bed with me, hiding under the covers.  Or if I was having a bad day, she’d lick my face and just sort of lay on my chest until I felt better.  You can’t tell me that was just a coincidence.  Lucy totally had a mind all her own.  Just like big ol’ Wolfie here!  Isn’t that right?” he said, rubbing his and Ethan’s noses together.

Jackson glanced away, unable to contain his smile.  

Scott was beaming from ear to ear, not even mad at Ethan anymore.

Derek, unlike the other two smiling dorks stood up with a slanted frown.

“Stiles…  Why don’t we take Wolfie for a walk.  There’s a place out back in the woods where I think he’d like to go.  There’s a perfect view of the moon,” Derek said quietly.

Nodding, Stiles turned to Scott.  “You care?  Does he have a leash?” he asked.

Scott and Jackson’s smiles melted into a puddle of nervousness.  

“He uh..  Yeah, go ahead.  He doesn’t need a leash.  He takes orders well enough,” Scott replied dully, not breaking eye contact with Derek.

“Cool!” Stiles said letting Ethan plop up from his seat.  The two ran over to the coat rack near the front door, where Stiles was putting on his bright red hoodie over his pajamas, and stepping into his boots.

Back in the living area, Scott snagged Derek by the tail of his shirt.

“Derek, you’re not going to…  PLEASE tell me you’re not going to-”

Derek nodded.  “It doesn’t matter if we wait two more weeks.  I TRUST him.  Did you not HEAR him just now?  You think someone like that is going to abandon us?  I can FEEL it.  I can feel it’s right,” he shouted.

“Then maybe we should-” Jackson offered, cut off immediately by Derek’s solid hand.  

“No.  I’ll do it.  I did it before, and I don’t want anyone else seeing what happens if it DOES go bad,” Derek ordered, grabbing his pull-over sweater.

With all the convincing they needed, both Scott and Jackson backed down.  They watched as Jackson led Stiles and Ethan out the front door, bundled up in their winter clothing.

“I’ll go tell mom,” Jackson said, sighing.

Scott nodded.  “I’ll call mom and the Argents,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone.

The night was going to end in one of three ways.

1)  Stiles would accept them and might actually start the process of breaking a century-long curse over their town.

2)  Stiles would freak out and be turned into a werewolf.

3)  Stiles would HARD CORE freak out and be hunted down and murdered by the Sun faction.

Only one of those was remotely positive.

+

Stiles was mildly put out by Derek.  The “spot” he’d talked about was more like a mile’s walk away, and WAY deeper in the forest than he thought was probably safe.  Still, they had Wolfie, so he could probably give anything, even a bear, a run for its money.  Really, Stiles was going to have to research Wolfie’s breeding, because there was no way he was some sort of Domesticated Dutch Wolf like Scott said.  Somebody was BSing the shelter, big time.

Still, it was a pleasant enough stroll.  Stiles enjoyed walks in nature, so it wasn’t all that bad  Still, if he’d known how long it was going to be, he would have put on some jeans like Derek had on, instead of his thin pajama bottoms.  

Shivering, Stiles whined loudly.  “How far is this?!  I’m cold and whiny,” he said, pouting along the way.  

“Not far…” Derek responded.  His voice was sad, like he had just come from a funeral.

Stiles spun around, walking backwards.  “You okay?” he asked.  As he’d turned, he saw that even Wolfie looked down.  His ears were folded backwards, while his tail was tucked between his legs.

Not breaking eye contact with the ground beneath him, Derek formed a fist in his hands.  “Stiles…  Have you ever…  Felt like one thing on the inside, but been another on the outside?  Like your body and you soul just didn’t match each other?” he asked.

In an act of Herculean clumsiness, Stiles fell backwards, tripping over his own feet as his face turned a pale white.  Instead of hitting dirt, however, he landed on Ethan, who had leapt over to catch stiles from landing on a root that might have actually hurt..

“Oh!  Sorry!  Awww, I’m sorry,” Stiles said, immediately flipping over and apologizing profusely to the dog, genuinely sorry that he’d landed on the animal.

Ethan rolled his eyes and licked Stiles on the cheek as if to show his acceptance of the apology.

Derek helped Stiles up from the ground, lifting him up with the ease of a plastic bag.  “You okay?” he asked.

Stiles nodded.  “Y..  Yeah, he mumbled.  Honestly, the question had caught him off guard.  Did..  Did Derek…  

No.  There was no way.

The two walked in silence, stopping at a small clearing in the forest.  Just like Derek said, there was a huge opening in the treeline, where the moon was gleaming overhead.  There was a huge campfire pit, surrounded by a dozen or more logs.

“Oh wow…  This is cool.  Like a big ol’ campsite or something,” Stiles said, watching as Wolfie ran off from the scene and into the clearing.  He assumed the dog was off doing his business.

Turning around, Stiles faced Derek, who still seemed very intent on not being sociable.  

“You didn’t answer my question,” Derek asked quietly.

Stiles folded his arms, sighing painfully.  “If I said yes, what would that mean?” he asked cautiously.  His heart thudded a little bit.  He was out in complete seclusion.  With a guy three times his size and weight.  

Suddenly, Stiles was VERY scared.

 _“Oh fuck…  Oh fuck…  IS HE LIKE A PSYCHO KILLER OR SOMETHING?”_ Stiles wondered, suddenly remembering that pretty much every serial killer in the history of mankind had been a pretty sociable, well liked person with massive confidence.  

Though instead of pulling a Ted Bundy, Derek just shut his eyes.

“Stiles..  I’m going to show you something.  It’s a huge secret that our town has kept for decades upon decades.  It’s something we all….  I mean, I just…  Oh hell, just know that however you react to it, it’s okay.  We’re…  We’re all used to it.  But…  If you can…  Just…  Just don’t…,” Derek said, throwing his hands into his jeans pocket and unbuttoning the top button, loosening the waistline.  Eventually he finally let out a final huff.  “I trust you with this, Stiles,” he answered, dropping his pants.

Stiles cocked an eyebrow, blushing suddenly.  “Derek, if you show me your dick I am totally going to be pis-...  to.. to-” Stiles said, shutting up as he watched Derek hunker down into a ball on the ground after stepping out of his pants.  

Derek was screaming in agony, roaring into the night like a lion wanting to hunt.

His body started cracking, shifting and MELTING as he growled in pain.  The noises were deafening, and Stiles had to cover his ears so he could stop trembling.

Stiles took a step backwards.  “Derek…  What are you…  Are…  What?” he stammered, covering his mouth as he watched the scene unfold.

In a flash of black, every inch of Derek’s skin VANISHED, replaced with a midnight black fur that matched his normal head of hair.  His legs and arms retracted down into much shorter and skinnier versions of themselves, as his back and stomach lurched out and exploded in muscle and fat.  

The worst was his face.  A cone-like object shot out of his face, dislocating his jaw and creating a snout.  HIs human ears vanished into his body, as triangular ones formed at the top.

In what took probably a minute, tops, Derek was gone.  

Replacing him was the body of a wolf, with his clothes hanging limply off him.  His size hadn’t changed all that much.  Instead of being taller, his canine body had merely shifted longways, giving him seven feet from his snout all the way to his bushy tail.  As if his human measurements had been accurately translated into that of a dog’s.

Stiles shook his head.  Derek was like some prized dog at a contest, gorgeous to any pet enthusiast.  

“Uh…  Derek?” Stiles asked nervously, wondering if he should run.  As Derek yawned and seemed to spit out the last bits of moaning from the change, Stiles could see his massive fangs.  He was most definitely a wolf.  A wolf that could probably hunt him down and kill him in an instant.

Derek…  

Derek was a **_beast._**

Derek walked out of his clothes, shaking off his underwear as he annoyingly strutted out of them on his hind legs.  One full body shake later to get his fur “just right”, and the wolf huffed through his nose.  Once he was all natural, Derek took a seat on his hindquarters, sitting up straight with his snout in the air.  As if he were a well-trained K9 cop like there had been at his dad’s last job.

He was waiting…  Waiting for something.

Stiles shuddered.  Much like Wolfie, Derek was HUGE.  

Then…  A new feeling overwhelmed him.  

**_Worry._ **

“D…  Derek?  Y…  You’re a dog Derek…  Should I…  Should I call a hospital or something?!  HOLY FUCK, YOU’RE A DOG!  IS THIS NORMAL?  WHAT… WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!” Stiles shrieked, immediately worried as he ran over to Derek and started checking his vital signs.


	6. Chapter 6

All the cards were on the table.  Derek had shifted, and now he was in his canine form.  Stiles saw him do it, and his heart rate was ridiculously high.  

 _“Please don’t run.  Please PLEASE do not run.  Don’t hate me, don’t hate us, don’t hate our town, please just…  Accept me, accept us, accept EVERYONE!  We’re not monsters, I swear!_ ” Derek begged mentally.  He couldn’t really articulate those thoughts to Stiles.  Not while he lacked vocal cords.  

Not that he could have said anything anyway.  The curse forbade them to say a word to any human unless they showed their wolf side first for the span of five minutes.  Which, by that point, it was too late.  Humans generally ran off screaming, calling them “freaks”.  Then, the Sun Faction would then hunt the humans town and either kill or curse them.  The decision generally came down to if they would be good breeding stock for the down.  It’s why Danny was still alive, and why his parents were brutally mauled to death.  Because Danny was strong and could add to the town’s defense force, while simultaneously already being Isaac’s boyfriend when he moved there a few years back.

Derek had been the one to show Danny their true nature all those years ago.  Danny had been their friend, just like Stiles had been.  He knew what to probably expect, despite that wiggling bit of doubt on the inside of his chest.  The hope Stiles had stuck there.

He knew it was stupid to even think Stiles would take this well.

Nobody, since 1866, had ever NOT ran in terror.

Yet...

Stiles though?  

Stiles wasn’t running, yet.  He kept staring at Derek, eyeballing every little detail.  Not that Derek blamed him.  Seeing a human squished into a dog’s skeleton was generally a terrifying and interesting thing altogether.  Though his eyes weren’t frightened.  Derek could smell Stiles’ heart, and it was…

_Worried?_

“D…  Derek?  Y…  You’re a dog Derek…  Should I…  Should I call a hospital or something?!  HOLY FUCK, YOU’RE A DOG!  IS THIS NORMAL?  WHAT… WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!” Stiles shrieked, immediately worried as he ran over to Derek and started checking his vital signs.

Derek’s eyes could have fallen out of his skull from shock.  Stiles was hovering over him, checking out each and every facet of his body, ending by holding Derek’s snout, on the verge of tears.

Because naturally, the first reaction a person should have when coming face to face with a werewolf was to be worried about said werewolf.  Derek pondered Stiles’ natural survival skills.  They were going to have to have a serious talk later.  

“Holy fuckballs, are you in pain?  That look like it fucking HURT.  Jesus Christ man…  I heard your freaking bones BREAKING.  Your skull like went POW,” Stiles shouted, animatedly waving his his and everywhere to gesture his words.

Derek shook his head back and forth.  

Actually, shifting didn’t hurt all that much, pain-wise.  It was the mental strain that hurt.  Giving in to the wolf was what triggered the shift, as well as the approximate 15,000 calories that it took to do it.  Really, he should have eaten more before attempting that.  When he shifted back, he was probably going to have lost a solid five pounds of muscle, if not more.  THAT hurt.

Stiles’ face melted.  “You..  You understand me?!  Like legitimately understand me?!” he asked, heart still racing like crazy in worry.

Derek nodded his head up and down.

“Hahaha.a...a.a.a..a..  You’re Derek.  You’re actually Derek,” Stiles stumbled out.

Derek tucked his head down.  He knew it was selfish.  The second he realized that Stiles was actually a nice person that their town didn’t deserve, he should have thrown his skinny ass out of town.  His mom would have let him.  His mom liked Claudia.  They’d been there for two months.  Their town really was better off with them.  Claudia had the kind of surgical skills their down needed desperately.  Sheriff Stilkinksi had the kind of experience their town needed to keep off the radar.  

Then..  Then there was Stiles.  The ASSHOLE had to really be that likeable.  Stiles had to be the kind of person Derek wanted in his life.  Hell, everyone in Derek’s circle of friends wanted Stiles in their life.  

It was the little things.  The way he laughed.  The way he was PASSIONATE about  everything he did, the Tennis match just being the icing on the cake.  They hadn’t had an LGBTQIA meeting since Stiles had gotten there, but he was already asking dozens of questions on what he could do to help out.  He and Lydia were already plotting.

Stiles and Scott were best buddies already.  Derek had overheard all their talks about video games, movies, and all things regarding their favorite sports teams.  

When Stiles was around, Jackson was tolerable.  He toned down his douchebaggery, because he genuinely wanted Stiles to like them.  

It wasn’t even about the curse anymore.  Curse be damned, Stiles made their life bearable, just like Danny had before…  Turning.

And there he was.  

Stiles.

Who was still not running away.  Who had tears running down his face, but not running.  

Though he did slap Derek upside the head.

“God, I thought you were DYING, ASSHOLE!  Derek…  You’re a dog.  Like, a really BIG dog, but you’re still a dog.  Is..  Is this what you meant when you were talking about having a soul and body not…  Match up?” Stiles said, blinking quietly as he laughed and cried simultaneously.  

He watched Stiles hold up his hand nervously, as though he wanted to touch Derek.

Sensing that need, Derek moved his head, letting the palm of Stiles’ hand meet his own head.  He wasn’t going to lie.  While he or anyone in town was in their wolf state, all the stuff that domesticated dogs loved definitely applied to all of them.  Petting, belly rubs, running, playing fetch, or anything one might to with an animal.  Embarrassing as hell, but Derek purred quietly as Stiles began rubbing his head, and scratching right around his ears.  

 _“God…  Oh god Stiles….  KEEP doing that,”_ Derek thought to himself.

“Oh.  Oh wow, you’re happy.  I’m petting my friend who just turned into a dog, and he’s happy and like doing that fucking weird dog purring.  This is…  Holy fuck,” Stiles  said, laughing quietly to himself.  He bent down to his knees, so he could be eye-level with Derek.  Stiles ran his fingers through Derek’s fur and massaged around his neck.  “This is..  I’m not drunk, am I?  Like…  You’re…  Oh wow,” he said, laughing even harder as Stiles buried his face in Derek’s fur.  

If Derek had cheeks, he would have been blushing at this point.  He could smell Stiles, every ounce of him.  His friend’s heart was racing, and his blood pressure was up.  Definitely frightened, but..  There was something else in there.  Relief?  Yeah, there was relief in there.

“So uh…  Can you…  Can you become human again, or do you like need me to go get a silver bullet or something to shove up your ass?” Stiles said, leaning up as he scratched behind Derek’s ears.

Ashamed to admit it, Derek didn’t really want to turn back.  It had been nearly a decade since another human had passed through their town for more than a night.  He NEEDED Stiles to pet him, and he was dying for Mr. Tennis Star to knock a ball as far into the woods as he could manage, for he and his friends to chase and fight over as though it were the holy grail itself.  Hell, all of the Night Faction needed that.  Their town needed that.

Someone…  Someone with a human heart.

Still, Stiles needed to hear everything.  The cuddle puppy time was going to have to wait.  

So, in the same bone-cracking process that he’d endured not minutes ago, Derek shifted back into his human self, buck bare as the day he was born.

To which Stiles’ face exploded in heat.

“OH WOW, you have a VERY large dick, could you please not wave that thing around without WARNING a guy first?” Stiles said, covering his eyes as he turned around.

Laughing, Derek grabbed his clothes and started changing quickly.  “Well, my dick appreciates your compliment, although I think we have other things to talk about,”

Once he was fully dressed, Derek move over to Stiles, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder.  “You took that…  Rather well,” he admitted.  

Stiles looked away.  “Uh..  Well, I uh..  I could say I know what it would feel like.  Having a soul and body not…  Being right,” he mumbled.  Slowly, he took Derek’s hand that was on his shoulder.  “I know,” he said again quietly.

Derek smiled.  “There’s really a lot  we do have to talk about.  Do you care if we go to Jackson’s house?  They can…  They can help me set the stage a little better.  Sorry to drag you all the way out here, but I thought one werewolf was better than three,” he said.

Raising an eyebrow, Stiles stared at Derek incredulously.  “Shut the fuck up.  Scott and Jackson are wolves too?!” he shouted.

Derek held out his hand, nodding with a short smile.  “Welcome to Beacon Hills, town of the Cursed Beasts,” he offered warmly.

Hesitantly, Stiles took Derek’s hand.  “I…  I don’t even know how to respond to that,” he said, laughing nervously as they both started back the long trek to Jackson’s house.  

Though Stiles stopped before they even left the clearing.

“Wait a minute..  What about Wolfie?  Oh hell, I totally forgot hi-” he exclaimed, clearing his throat before he even finished his own sentence.  “Wolfie’s a werewolf, isn’t he?  Scott is really that uncreative, isn't he?” Stiles asked.

Derek chuckled.  “His name is Ethan, and that’s an even longer story.  Don’t worry, he’ll meet us there.  He was just guarding us to the destination,” he said, putting his arm around Stiles in attempt to warm up the freezing male.  

+

Stiles and Derek stopped just short of the front porch.  Stiles was surprised to see…  So many different people.

He spotted Mrs. Argent, a fully dressed officer, Principal Thomas, Dr. Harris, Melissa, and a spunky brunette male with soft curled hair.  

“Uh…” Stiles asked, turning to Derek, who stepped forward.

“I’ll explain more about this later, but these are some of the members of the Night Faction.  Basically, our friends and family,” Derek said, smiling.  “There’s here to see you and wish you well, and then they’ll be on their way,” he said.

Stiles stopped short of the front porch  Melissa was the first one to come to him, hugging his neck tightly.  “I don’t even know how to say what this means to all of us,” she whispered.

Laughing nervously, Stiles shook his head.  “Neither do I, really,” he said nervously.

Melissa shook her head.  “The boys will explain everything.  Have a good weekend.  We’ll leave you in peace until you’re ready,” she said, patting him on the back as she moved on behind him.  

Stiles nodded farewell to Melissa, as Mrs. Argent and the dressed officer stepped forward.  

“So you’re Officer Stilinski’s son?  Not a bit surprised,” the officer said, tipping his cap and bowing to Stiles.  “I’m Deputy Argent, your father’s second-in-command.  I apologize for not visiting sooner, but I understand you were still healing,” he explained.

Eying the man carefully, he was remarkably handsome.  Definitely over 40, but bordering on DILF status hard-core.  He more built than his father, and had enough guns strapped to his belt to warrant a war-crime.

“Nice to meet you too,” Stiles finally stuttered out, trying to bow out of respect as well.  

Deputy Argent chuckled and walked off, while Mrs. Argent stepped forward and took both of Stiles’ hands in her own.  “You really are a remarkable young man.  I wish you well,” she said, as she pressed a kiss into his temple and maneuvered off as well.

Stepping up next was Principal Thomas, laughing loud from his belly, thumping Stiles on his chest.  “Boy…  You’ve got a hell of a semester heading your way.  I’m looking forward to seeing you progress!” he bellowed, slapping Stiles on the back as he hefted off.

Stiles shot a glare to Derek.  “What the hell is he talking about?” he asked nervously.

Derek smirked.  “Later, you still have one guest,” he said, nodding back to the porch.  

The last of them, the young man about their age with the curled brown hair, stepped forward, still sipping a Starbucks take-out cup.  He eyed Stiles for a few moments, smiled and then turned to Derek.

“Danny will be happy you didn’t turn him.  I am too,” the man’s warm voice said, as he patted Derek on the shoulder.  Then, he shifted his gaze back to Stiles.  “Let’s talk more Monday.  In private.  I’m Isaac, by the way.  Isaac Lahey, Derek’s cousin.  Nice to meet you Stiles Stilinksi, very nice to meet you.  I look forward to seeing what you accomplish here,” he said, brushing past both of them without saying another word.

Shaking off the oddity that was the last five minutes, Stiles felt Derek’s hand on his back, pushing him forward.  “I’m sure you want some answers,” he said, smirking perkily.

Stiles nodded, and allowed Derek to lead him inside.  

The door was opened for him, with Jackson standing inside with Ethan at his side, panting happily.  

“I knew you were different,” Jackson said, as everyone moved on inside.

Though just as the two entered the Whittemore estate, Scott piledrived Stiles to the ground in what would be the biggest bear hug ever.  “YOU CAME BACK!” he screamed loudly, not letting go anytime soon.  

Derek sighed.  “Scott, please get off him,” he said, rubbing his forehead.

“NOPE,” Scott said, still hugging Stiles as tightly as he could.

Stiles gently tapped Scott on the shoulder.  “Scott…  I can’t breathe,” he whispered.

“Dude, sorry!” Scott said, leaping up and off Stiles, who had turned a pale shade of blue.

+

After the excitement was finally over and Stiles regained color again, the gang sat around in the Whittemore dining room, enjoying cups of hot chocolate.  Well, Stiles was anyway.  The guys couldn’t have chocolate.  Dog stomachs were a pain to deal with, apparently.  

Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore had offered their kindest words to Stiles and then went on to their own bedroom, leaving the boys to their own devices.

Which Derek was the first to break the silence.    

“Stiles?  Now that we’re all here, I suppose you have a lot of questions, but I think it’s best if we at least try to explain a few things first.  The basis of everything,” Derek said.

Nodding, Stiles took a sip of his drink.

Taking a deep breath, Derek tapped his fingers against the table.  “Remember the curse we talked about that night at your house?” he asked.

“Yeah.  Some Enchantress cursed the town because Lord Hale gave all the land away, right?” Stiles asked.  Suddenly, things made much more sense.  “WAIT!?  That crooked old story is true?!” he screeched.

“Correct,” Derek responded solemnly.  “The woman we know as Kate the Snake, cursed the town of Beacon Hills and all of its ancestors.  So long as we live and breathe, we…  We can’t leave the city grounds for longer than a day or two.  Because if we do…”he whispered, as Derek’s face fell.

“The wolf thing?” Stiles asked.

Scott nodded, groaning to himself.

“First and foremost, she cursed each and every founding family of Beacon Hill to bear the soul of a wolf alongside their human soul.  Meaning that we feel the same…  “Urges” I guess you could say, as real life canines.  That’s why Ethan over there got all cuddly with you in the house,” Scott explained, signaling to the side of the room.

Ethan began wagging his tail excitedly, raising up from the bed of blankets Mrs. Whittemore had fetched for him.

Stiles laughed at the excited puppy who ran over and made himself comfortable in Stiles’ lap, leaning his head for petting.

“It’s not like..  Rude to pet him, right?  I totally don’t want to be offensive,” Stiles asked, holding off momentarily, and hovering his hand over Ethan’s head.

“NO,” Scott, Derek and Jackson said in unision.  Their tone was panicked, fearing Stiles NOT petting any of them.

Jackson blushed quietly.  “It’s like crack to us.  Seriously, Do not EVER feel like you can’t be cutesy with any of us, for like REAL,” he stuttered out.

“Oh.  So like…  You guys like that stuff too?” Stiles asked.

Derek cleared his throat.  “We’re getting off topic.  We’ll discuss those thoughts later,” he said, much to Scott and Jackson’s severe irritation, watching as Stiles returned scratching Ethan’s head.

Stiles nodded.  “Okay, so you’ve all got wolf souls.  Got that much so far,” he answered.

“Correct,” Derek said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than to shift and pile on top of Ethan for Stiles’ magic fingers.  “Secondly, the enchantress cursed us to take the form of beasts whenever the moon hits its full cycle.  Scientifically speaking, that should just be an instant or even a fraction of an instant, but it’s more like 3 days when the reflected sunlight takes up most of the moon.  That’s the only explanation we can really make, thanks to the Star Faction.  Unfortunately, that also means we’re wolves during the daytime at this period, since the moon is in the same position all around the planet,” he said.

Stiles’ face went pale.  “Wait…  So…  The whole town becomes…  Wolves for three whole days every lunar cycle?…  How the fuck did my parents and I MISS THAT?  How has the world missed that so far?!” he screamed.

Scott folded his arms.  “We uh…  We might have used old timey potions in your water supply and junk to make you guys have an uncanny desire to stay at home those days.  And then have the hospital and sheriff’s office give your folks some time off.  We barricade the city with construction markers before hand to ward off anyone driving through.  Mr. Argent, he was a human in the military before he moved to Beacon Hills with his family and took the bite.  He’s really helped beef up security,” he answered.

“The bite?” Stiles asked.

Derek sighed.  “That’s how the curse is spread, besides through birthing.  If a cursed townsperson bites a human, that human becomes part of the town,” he explained.

“Oh…  So like…  Since I know the big secret, do I have to-”

“No Stiles,” Derek was quick to say.  He shook his head furiously.  “No.  The only time we have to administer the bite is in case of emergencies or…  Situations of life and death,” he explained.  

Stiles nodded.  “Good to know. So like, you only HAVE to change for three whole days of the month.  But you can change anytime?  Like fur butt here?” he asked, pointing down to Ethan, who was purring in Stiles’ lap.  His tail was wagging rapidly, very pleased.

“Yeah.  Like we said, we’ve got the same urges as a wolf does  Since we are sort of…  You know, wolves.  So…  There are times when…  Actually a LOT of times when we’d rather be wolves.  A lot of us sleep as wolves, mostly.  To be honest, most of us hang around in wolf form on weekends.  That us, until your family moved here.  A lot of us have been holding back for a while now,” Jackson admitted.

Laughing nervously, Stiles laughed.  “Sorry!” he answered.

Derek shook his head.  “It’s fine,” he said, trying to smile at how flustered his friend was.  “So anyway that’s the basics.  We’re cursed with the soul of wolves crammed inside of our human ones, we turn into wolves forcibly on the full moon, and we can’t leave this town.  Now comes the…  The difficult part,” he admitted.

“Difficult?” Stiles asked, with a grim look on his face.

Jackson nodded.  “There is a way to break the curse.  But…  Time’s running out,” he said, closing his eyes.  

Stiles saw their faces drop by a mile, and felt Ethan’s tail cease wagging.  

“150 years, that’s all we got.  In 1866, Kate cursed us.  It’s 2013 now, and we’ve only got about half a year until the Spring Harvest Festival.  After that, the…  The curse is permanent,” Derek said quietly.

Stiles felt his own jaw drop.  “Well then how do you break it!?  I say we smash it to hell and back!” he exploded.

The three exchanged frustrated stares.

“We..  We can’t tell you,” Scott mumbled.

Stiles rose an eyebrow  “What?!  Why not?!  I totally can-”

“It’s not that we don’t want to tell you, it’s just…  We literally can’t.  The curse prevents it.  Anytime we’d start to explain it, we’d shift into a wolf and it’d silence us” Derek answered.

Stiles silenced himself, feeling his heart drop.  “But that’s…  That’s not fair!  How the hell are you supposed to get free if you can’t even tell anyone about it?!  That's freaking CHEATING, and I say we call like the wizard's council or whatever there is to write her up!” he screeched bitterly.

“It is what it is,” Derek answered.  As grim as he appeared though, he smirked.  “And what it is?  Well, we’ve finally got a hope.  That’s you,” he said.

“Me?” Stiles asked, pointing to himself cautiously.  

All three nodded in unison.

“Yes, you.  Only a human who accepts us can break the curse.  Which is you.  I mean, we can’t exactly tell you how, but…  You can do it.  You’re the first one EVER,” Scott said, with a beaming smile.

Stiles slammed his head against the table.  “Gee, no pressure, huh?” he asked sulkily.

The table laughed warmly.  

That is, until Stiles raised his head back up.

“So uh…  You guys were great and all to trust me with your big ol’ wolfy secret, but uh…  Can I share one of my own?” Stiles asked.

“Naturally,” Derek replied.

Stiles took a deep breath.  “I’ve only told a handful of people in my life.  Besides mom, grandma, and dad, nobody else took this…  Well.  But I’m guessing…  I’m guessing you guys would understand better than anybody,” he admitted.  

“If you tell us you’re a werecoyote, I am totally bailing on this show that is our life,” Jackson joked, with a shit-eating grin.

To which Derek threw Jackson a dark glare.  Scott and Ethan both growled at Jackson’s direction.  Jackson tried his best to not appear both flustered and embarassased.

Stiles laughed.  “No…  Not a werecoyote, that’s for sure,” he said, tightening his grip on his mug of hot chocolate.  “But…  I’ve been scared my entire life of letting people know about it.  Ever since I was old enough to talk and play, I knew…  I knew I was different,” he admitted.

“Different how?” Scott asked, tilting his head.

“I was one soul trapped in a body that I didn’t belong to,” Stiles said, trying to smile and petting Ethan’s head.  “That’s why I don’t find this werewolf stuff weird at all,” he said, putting his mug down on the table and pushing it away.

Stiles smiled.  “The thing is..  I’m not scared anymore.  You know?  Because I’m…  I’m trusting you guys too, okay?” he said, backing out of his chair and standing up in front of the rest of them.

“Duh,” Jackson remarked, rolling his eyes.

Ethan barked affirmatively.

Derek and Scott both nodded silently.

Confidently, Stiles grabbed the edge of his nightshirt.  He peeled off his nightshirt, earning several shocked gasps, and one particularly low whine from Ethan.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?" Scott screamed in abject horror.


	7. Chapter 7

_(10 Years Before)_

_The Lilyvale Elementary School was the best in the world of private education.  With an all Doctorate teaching staff, state of the art facilities, and well manicured playground area with shiny new equipment every year.  Especially the 12 person swing sets, which is exactly what a tiny male kindergartener with light brown hair and a mildly bruised eye was running for at top speed._

_“Orientation” was boring.  All the grown ups just stood and talked about boring stuff like READING and WRITING._

_So like most of the students, the tiny boy had been let outside to see the playground.  One of the teachers was outside with them, watching over the 20 or so kindergartners who were playing in the dusk._

_Running over as his red power ranger t-shirt fluttered behind him.  He’d always been a little skinny, so his clothes never fit right._

_In no time at all, he jumped into the playground swing and was kicking off eagerly into the sky.  Like any rowdy boy, the child was swinging far too high into the sky than was probably safe._

_“You’re gonna fall,” whispered another child._

_The boy, rushing past a blur of pink, dug his dirty tennis shoes into the dirt and slowed down to face his rival.  “NUH UH.  CUZ I’M HOLDING ON!” he shouted, jingling the chains that were holding up the seat._

_The other child, who had been holding their head down most of the time, finally raised it up._

_Piquing his head curiously, he could finally see who’d been talking to him.  The other child was wearing a pink power ranger T-shirt, the style that was just like him, only a different color.  They had short hair, curled in the front bangs, like a pixie cut._

_“You shouldn’t do stuff that’s dangerous.  That’s what my daddy says.,” the pink ranger child whispered._

_Red Ranger kid laughed.  “That’s no fun!  I do what’s FUN.  Nobody tells ME what to do!” he shouted loudly._

_Pink ranger kid smiled a bit.  “That’s what my mommy says to my daddy,” they said, giggling._

_Slowly, the red ranger kid swang slower, back and forth in teh swing.  “So you like the pink ranger huh?  Red Ranger’s MY favorite.  Cuz he’s the HERO,” he answered giddly._

_“I like Pink Ranger, cuz she’s the strongest and the smartest!” the other child responded._

_Offended on a personal level, the Red Ranger fan pouted.  “She is NOT.  RED RANGER is,” he shouted._

_“NUH UH.  CUZ PINK RANGER HAS A BOW.  SHE CAN SHOOT THE RED RANGER!” pink ranger fan screeched, making a bow sound between her teeth and mimicking the use of a bow with her hands._

_“RED RANGER HAS THE T-REX ZORD!  HE CAN EAT PINK RANGER’S STUPID BIRD!” Red replied._

_“HIS STUPID T-REX CAN’T EVEN REACH PINK’S BIRD!  AND IT’S A PTERODACTYL YOU DUMMY HEAD!” Pink fired right back._

_An argument of epic proportions lasted for most of the outside playtime.  Dusk got darker and darker, up until most of the students were taken back inside with their parents to leave._

_Though just as the sun finally began to make the sky a pale mixture of pink, red, and orange, the two arguing children calmed down, both folding their arms and huffing angrily._

_At least, until Pink fan huffed one last pitiful blow of air.  “Red Ranger is…  Okay.  I like his sword and he beats up Goldar real good,” she admitted._

_Red fan kicked some rocks in the swing pit.  “Pink Ranger..  Is pretty,” he answered._

_Then, just like that, all malice evaporated in a childlike instant._

_“Do you like playing football?  That’s my favorite game!  Besides Tennis, but I’m not real good at that,” Pink fan asked._

_Red fan nodded.  “YEAH!  ME AND MY BIG BROTHER PLAY FOOTBALL ALL THE TIME!” he shouted excitedly.  “Do you wanna play football at recess when we go to school?!  I got a lot of friends to play with from preschool!” he asked._

_Pink beamed.  “YEAH!  Let’s play football and then we’ll play power rangers and go kick bad guy booty!” the child yelled, punching their fists in the air rapidly._

_“You’re COOL.  I like you!” Red fan said, holding out his hand.  “What’s your name?!” he asked eagerly._

_The kindergartner with the pink power ranger shirt held out their hand.  “My name’s Stephie.  Stephie Stilinksi.”_

_The kindergartner with the red power ranger shirt held Stephie’s hand tightly.  “Hi Stephie!  My name’s Vincent!  Let’s be best friends, okay?”_

_Stephie smiled, holding Vincent’s hand tightly.  “Best friends!” the child exclaimed brightly._

+

Scars.  

Derek was staring at massive scars on Stiles’ chest, just an inch or two below his nipples.  They were wide and bounded on each side, covering most of his chest, stopping just before a tiny patch of chest hair in the middle.  Still fairly red, it was obvious that they were recent.  

Anyone with a moderate IQ knew what those scars meant.  Though the tattooed rainbow heart right around Stiles’ happy trail with the roman numeral date of 6-26-2013 was even more evidence than was probably necessary.

“HOLY SHIT, DID YOU LIKE GET IN A GANG FIGHT OR SOMETHING?!” Scott screeched.

Derek, Jackson and Ethan all slammed their heads against the table in a unified groan.

Stiles raised a hand to explain, only to be met with Scott standing up and frothing at the mouth.  “Dude?  Did you like get heart surgery?  Or like…  A bypass or something shit?!  Do we need to be watching your cholesterol?!  HOLY FUCK THAT’S WHY YOU EAT LIKE A BIRD, ISN’T IT!?” he screeched.

For roughly five minutes, Scott’s imagination ran wild, until Stiles was red in the face with laughter.  The explanations ranged from human transmutation to Stiles being into knife-play.

Laughing quietly, Stiles shook his head.  “While I appreciate the imaginative explanations, the truth is just a lot more simple,” he said, taking his seat back at the table and slipping his shirt back on.  

All eyes were on him, almost all knowing what was coming next.

“Scott, I got these surgery scars because I didn’t want my breasts anymore,” Stiles said, running his fingertips across his chest, along the scarred lines that took away the things he hated most.

Scott’s jaw dropped.  “Oh..  OH!” he shouted, covering his mouth.  

Derek shook his head at his brother’s stupidity, turning to Stiles.  “Thank you for sharing that with us.  That’s a very difficult thing to trust someone with,” he answered quietly, smiling.  Stiles was even stronger of heart than he figured.  No wonder he took to their strife so easily.

“Whowhowohwohwohwooooa..  So like…  You…  You had… You’ve got…  I mean...” Scott said, immediately shaking his head.  “You know what, you’re just Stiles to me, and that’s how it’s going to stay.  I don’t have the brain matter to think too hard about this.  Is that okay?” he replied.

Stiles laughed.  “Yeah, I’d rather everything be same.  I liked how we were, is that alright?” he asked.

Jackson laughed.  “Lydia had a long lecture about gender to us a year or two ago at a RC campfire.  Basically, she said that some men are born with dicks, and some have breasts and a uteruses.  Then some women are born with breasts and uteruses, and some have dicks.  Gender isn’t defined by our sexual organs, and neither is sexuality.  So yeah, nothing has to change,” he said, moving to his glass of decaf tea and sipping the remains.  

Ethan had already made himself comfortable on Stiles lap again, getting his head scratched.  

“Oh but of course YOU’D be okay with it.  I could be a three headed monster and you wouldn’t care as long as I pet you,” Stiles said, ruffling Ethan’s hair as he planted another kiss on his furry head.

Derek nodded.  “Stiles, it goes without saying that most of Beacon Hills is not going to care.  Not to say we’re free of bigots, but…  Our per captia is pretty low on assholes.  Just the Daehler and Dunbar families are REALLY bad.  The rest are just ignorant and in need of education,” he explained.

“That’s good,” Stiles said, instinctively rubbing his arm.  “I’ve had enough of bigots to last a lifetime,” he mumbled quietly under his breath.

Entire body tensing, Derek shuddered.  He remembered, Stiles’ boyfriend Vincent had pushed him down a flight of stairs.  It didn’t take a lot to put two and two together.  Vincent must not have taken the “news” well.  If Derek ever saw him, he was DEAD.  There was no reason that anyone should ever hurt someone like Stiles.  Someone so strong, passionate, gifted, and-

“Derek?” Stiles asked.

Derek left his thoughts, and turned back to Stiles.  “Yeah?” he asked.

Laughing, Stiles kept ruffling Ethan’s head.  “So I was SAYING Mr. Daydreams a Lot, that I’m exhausted and had about enough life-shattering secrets for one day.  Can we turn in and finish this tomorrow?” he asked politely.

“Of course,” Derek said, as their group all stood up from the table and began throwing their mugs into the sink.  

Stiles felt Scott’s hand clap on his shoulder.

Scott cleared his throat.  “So like..  Can we…  Uh…  Like…  Uh…  Do…  canwelikeprettypleaseshareabedandbewolves-” he said, mumbling quiely off at the end in an incomprehensible whisper.

“Heh?” Stiles asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “What Scott is TRYING to ask is if we can share a bed tonight with us as wolves.  It’s what we usually do in sleepovers.  It’s comforting to our beast side if we sleep in numbers and near each other.  Animal studies show it’s pack protection and just a basic need to feel close to other heartbeats.  Like a mother and child,” he explained.   

“Oh,” Stiles said, blinking quietly.  

Jackson sighed.  “It’ll make you feel better too.  A weird aura thing.  And if you don’t like totally do something cuddly with us soon, we’re going to violently murder Ethan who has been hogging you all night and yesterday,” he said bluntly.  

“Oh!” Stiles said, taking his head off of Ethan’s head as Jackson smiled ever so hungrily in Ethan’s direction.  Stiles turned to Derek as realization hit him.  “You guys totally have a cuddle fetish don’t you?” he said with a shit-eating grin.

Derek rolled his eyes, throwing his arm around Stiles’ shoulder and growling playfully.  “Shut up and let us love you,” he spat, as he led Stiles upstairs towards Jackson’s bedroom.

+

Life was now officially different. Different on a whole new level Stiles never really expected.  

More different than going to school dressed as his right gender for the first time in third grade.  More different than chopping off his hair into a buzz cut in the fourth grade.  More different than ditching the name “Stephie” and getting the nickname Stiles from Vincent in the fifth grade.  More different than his first binder in the sixth grade.  More different than his “coming out” speech to his entire extended family at Christmas in the seventh grade.  More different than the year of family therapy in the eighth grade he went with his mom and dad to, so they could understand him better as the many changes in his body would start.  More different than starting testosterone in the ninth grade.  More different than his mom surgically removing his breasts last year.  More different…  More different than everybody he ever knew and loved at school betraying him, rejecting him his first day of Sophomore year.

More different than Vincent-

No…  He wasn’t going to think about him.

Though as he looked down at the scene before him, “more different” was only going to be something brighter than ever before.

His friends had all shifted before him several hours earlier, in the same cracking and tortuous way that Derek had.  Hopping out of their clothes, the wolves piled on top of Jackson’s massive king-sized bed.  Stiles hadn’t bothered putting his shirt back on after he dressed-down, and he was most definitely going to sleep like he did at home.  At least, when he was around his friends.  I mean, that was fair right?  If they got to sleep like they usually did in their fur, he should do the same in his bare chest.  He EARNED that chest.

Stiles made himself comfortable in the center, as the rest of his friends clambered on top of him, each of them different in their own way.

Jackson’s fur was a darker gold than Ethan, boring on brunette.  Actually, he and Ethan were hard to tell apart, if it weren’t for Jackson’s smaller size.  In fact, he was the puniest wolf of all of them, happy to curl up and lay on top of Stiles’ feet.

Then there was Scott.  He was a hair shorter and less muscular than Derek, but his Chocolate brown fur was a hell of a lot more soft and more huggable.  His gold eyes were soft, puppy-like.  So naturally, he’d curled up on Stiles’ chest and was using his heart as a pillow.

Ethan had been banned to Stiles’ side so that the other guys could have a turn with their friend.  Though Stiles was pretty happy at the placement, where Ethan acted as a built-in heater, being the world’s best electric blanket.  Which was nice, considering the Whittemore house was freezing constantly.

Finally the black wolf Derek was Stiles’ pillow.  He’d rested his head on the middle of Derek’s body and could hear the wolf’s heart racing.  The rhythmic beating was like a lullaby, slowly drifting Stiles off into sleep.

All of it was different.  His friends being wolves.  The wolves laying on top of him, comforted by his body and comforting him in turn.  Him living in a town full of these adorable creatures.  All of them wanting him to break a curse he couldn’t know much about.

They knew.  They all knew about him.  

He knew.  He knew all about them.

Their secrets, in the open.  

Everything really was different on a grand, almost godlike scale.  Though as Derek rested his snoozing head on Stiles’s forehead, he couldn’t care less.

Different was good.  Different was going to be so fucking good.  Better than good.  

Different was going to make his life exactly what he’d always wanted it to be.

Normal.

He shifted his hands from Scott and Ethan’s head to Dereks, wrapping his arm around Derek’s thick neck, hugging him like he’d always done his pillows at home.  

“Thank you,” Stiles whispered quiletly, smilng as he drifted off into sleep.

“No…  Thank you,” Derek whined under his breath.

+

Morning came too quickly.  

Derek hated that they’d all slept so soundly and didn't have more time to talk or cuddle, but it was the best night’s sleep any of them had in years.  

After shifting in the bathroom and taking care of his stupid bladder as a human, Derek trekked downstairs.  Everyone was still content to lay around and watch TV in Jackson’s bed, all fighting over Stiles like he were a chew toy.  All subtlety had gone out the freaking window, with Scott being no better than Ethan on attentinon mongering.  Jackson was a a little less obvious, though never left Stiles’ side, where his head always managed to find a stray hand.

Nothing odd about it, really.  For Stiles, it was probably a fucking WEIRD way to have a sleepover, but he took to it better than Derek had expected.  In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he wasn’t very eager to leave.  Derek finally got sick of hearing the boy’s stomach rumble, and was in the Whittemore fridge, looking for whatever seemed edible.

Derek smiled in relief, snagging an extra large container of yogurt.  It was the same brand Stiles ate every day at lunch, Derek had seen it plenty of enough.  

“You looked comfortable last night,” Mrs. Whittemore said, smiling warmly as she stepped in the kitchen.  She had an all knowing grin on her face that Derek missed completely.

Derek nodded.  “I think we’re just all relieved to be…  “Out”.  You know?” he asked.

Jackson’s mother smiled.  “I heard.  Though I’m more interested in seeing the curse broken.  What about you Derek?” she asked, winking in his direction.

“Don’t be stupid,” Derek scoffed, grabbing a protein shake for himself and Scott.  Jackson could get his own damn food.  Ethan could drink out of the toilet for all he cared.

Margaret rose her head up, stunned by the words.  

Derek saw her shock and sighed.  “Do you really think this changes anything?  Stiles is here now, and yes he accepts us, but do you know the likelihood of him actually breaking the curse?  We have six months, tops,” he answered.

“But Derek…  Falling in love doesn’t take forever.  Sometimes people know in an instant!” Margaret offered immediately.  She put her hand on Derek’s shoulders, trying to comfort him.  “Stiles could fall in love and give true love’s first kiss to someone in the town!  Then the curse would be broken!  We’d all be human again!  I know it can happen!” she said, slapping Derek on the shoulders.  “Come on, get your head in the game!  The fun starts now!  We’ll all help Stiles find his one true love!  I bet it’s not even all that far away,” she exclaimed.

Derek turned his head away.

“True love’s first kiss between a werewolf and a human.  Mrs. Whittemore, I don’t mean to be rude, but…” he whispered, pushing her away and moving over to the couch.  He’d grabbed the extra blankets for Stiles, who was freezing, despite the wolf ovens that he and his friends had been providing.  Stiles really was too skinny, he needed to eat more.  Though if Stiles were on testosterone now,, he was probably worried about the weight gain and distribution of muscle and fat in his body.  Yogurt was all well and good, but he was bordering being underweight. He’d have to-

“Derek?” Mrs. Whittemore asked, breaking him out of his trance.

Huffing, Derek shook his head.

“Sorry, but let’s be realistic here?  Who could ever learn to love a beast?” Derek spat, taking the blanket and shoving it under his arms alongside the food.  He stormed off, jogging upstairs without another word.

Margaret sighed, folding her arms.  “Oi.  This is going to take forever,” she said to herself, wanting to slap Derek upside the head with her racquet.


	8. Chapter 8

Stiles was trying VERY hard not to laugh at the situation before him.  Still in Jackson’s bedroom in the early morning, Stiles was still curled up in the blanket Derek had brought him, eating his breakfast yogurt and enjoying the show.  He kept himself bare chested, it was so NICE not to worry about it anymore.  Like a gigantic weight was off his shoulders.

Which was Jackson and Scott growling menacingly at each other as wolves on the floor, walking around in a circle at a snail’s pace, facing off at each other.

Ethan was content to lay in Stiles’ lap, while Derek’s human self was in the corner reading a book.  

“Grrrrr….” Scott said, showing his flashy white fangs.

Stiles immediately turned to Derek, who disinterestedly turned a page in his book.  “Scott asserts that Jackson should be the one to go pick up Lydia and Allison because Jackson is a douchebag piece of shit that makes all of us miserable,” he answered dully.

Stiles turned his head to Jackson, waiting for a reply.

Jackson barked once, baring his own teeth and flashing long claws out of his paws.

Back to Derek, Stiles waited in anticipation.

“Jackson retorts that he isn’t dare fool enough to pick up Lydia before 10 AM, and that Allison is Scott’s girlfriend and should be the one to pick her up,” Derek translated, turning to the still-pacing wolves.  “You know, you could have this fight as humans and save me the headache of overanalyzing your ridiculous dialects,” he spat, throwing them both angry glares.

Smirking, Stiles put his finished yogurt over on the night stand and folded over Ethan as though he were a furry pillow.  “You know…  They could always just drive themselves?” he offered.

A gentle snort came out of both wolves’ noses.

“They both admit that they probably COULD, but honestly, have you seen gas prices lately?” Derek replied for the two of them.

Stiles frowned as hard as he could.  “OKAY, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING WITH ME.  There is no WAY that a little huff of air THROUGH THEIR NOSES could be construed as any kind of language!” he yelled.

Derek just shrugged, smirking as he went back to his book.  “Just go run by their houses and have them come here on paws.  They’ll be thrilled to hear they don’t have to hide anymore,” he answered.  He then quickly turned to Stiles.  "Just for the record, the girls are going to want cuddling just as much as the guys.  Don't let Lydia fool you," he explained.

“AW!  I bet Lydia’s adorable!” Stiles said loudly.

“And somewhere out there, Lydia has the undesirable urge to kick someone and she doesn’t know why,” Scott said, finally shifted back into his human self.  Modesty was apparently a foregone concept, as Scott had no issue flashing his bare ass in Stiles' direction while he re-dressed himself.  

Equally immodest, the tanned human body of Jackson stretched out as he stood up on two legs.  

Ethan used his paw to cover Stiles’ eyes.

“Fucking HELL, I’ll go get Lydia, Scott can get Allison.  This is BULLSHIT, I’m the goddamn host, YOU ASSHOLES should be the ones driving,” Jackson said, pulling on a pair of tight fitting briefs.

Besides angry banter between Scott and Jackson, not much else changed as the two got dressed and raced downstairs to grab their significant others from across town.

Derek sighed.  “You’ll have to forgive everyone in town.  Nudity is not…  It’s not really a thing since we all see each other as wolves.  We…  We don’t wear clothes then either.  So..  There's no secrets in this town about our bodies,” he said, watching as Stiles was mildly flushed from the sight.

“Ahaha…  Yeah, I got that,” Stiles said, shaking his head.  He turned down to Ethan.  “So…  Ethan…  How come you don’t change back to a human?  You’ve been a wolf since I’ve known you,” he asked.

Huffing, Ethan let out a series of timid growls and howls towards Derek.  Being the kind soul that he was, Derek would play translator.

“Ethan says that he is a member of the Beast Faction.  That as a member, none of their faction revert to human status unless in case of dire emergency or life and death situations.  They live as a wolf their entire lives, free of social and moral boundaries that they had as humans.  As he puts it, they are “one with the beast”,” Derek explained, slamming his book shut.

Stiles nodded.  “Ooooh…  Yeah, you mentioned about these faction things before.  What are they exactly?” he asked.

Sighing, Derek stretched up into the air, turning to Stiles.  “Back in the first couple of decades we had the curse, Beacon Hills split into four factions.  The Sun, Night, Beast and Star factions.  There was a good twenty years of civil war before tensions finally diffused.  Lot of townspeople died, it’s part of the reason why we’re such a small city now.  Half our population was wiped out.  We're still recovering,” he explained.

“War!?” Stiles asked, turning down to Ethan.

His worry must have been obvious, because both Ethan and Derek chuckled in their own ways.

“Stiles, there wasn’t been war since the 1890s.  Our town basically used the factions to make political parties for the town council after the war.  Warring factions that try every underhanded tactic in the book to win over voters at city council, but nothing violent…  Well, mostly,” Derek admitted. 

Curling up next to Ethan, Stiles moaned happily from the secondhand wolf aura that had given him such a nice rest.  It really was like a low-barred high, like a drug.  He pined at the thought of sleeping alone during the school week.

“So what’s all the fuss about in the city?  The curse?” he asked.

“Exactly,” Derek said, plopping down beside Stiles and resting next to him.  “We in the Night Faction, just want to be human again.  Nothing more, nothing less.  We don’t hate being wolves, but we hate the fact that it controls our life every month and makes it impossible to live anywhere else in the world.  We’d rather be without it than with it,” he admitted.

Stiles nodded.  “Makes sense…” he offered.

Ethan growled under his breath.

Sighing, Derek rubbed Ethan’s head in an attempt to console the beast.  “The Beast Faction is the exact opposite.  They embrace the changes and could care less if they ever had the curse lifted.  In their dream world, they’d never want to be human again and live out in the wild like they do not for the rest of their many generations.  Because as Ethan just so eloquently attempted to tell us, society doesn’t judge animals.  They can be who they want to be, and just be free.  Nothing more, nothing less.  So any ideas of curse breaking are generally not their fondest desires,” he explained.

“Oh…  So I’m guessing you sort of…  Hate me then  Since I can break the curse, apparently?” Stiles asked.

Ethan shook his head and quickly lapped a strip up Stiles face with his tongue, much to the latter’s giggling "discomfort".

Derek smiled coyly.  “Not really.  They wish you no ill will, but also would prefer you not break the curse, naturally.  Ethan’s here to try and convince you of that, I’m sure,” he explained.

Stiles nodded.  “Okay…  So that’s Beast and Night.  What about Sun and Star?” he asked curiously.

Derek took a deep breath.  “The Sun Faction wants to distribute the bite around the country to try and grow our numbers.  They say the whole world should embrace what we are, because in their words, there should only be ONE kind of dominant human species in the world, which is…  Us,” he said grimly.

Choking in an unpleasant huff, Ethan shook his head.  He held out his tongue, dry-heaving in discomfort of the topic.

“Wow.  So like werewolf “white power” bullshit?” Stiles asked with a slanted smirk.

Derek shrugged.  “I wouldn’t go that far.  They don’t hate humans, they would just rather them…  “Be of one like mind with us”.  I forget all the crap they tried to cram down our throats in 6th grade.  It reeked of desperation, they have the smallest fraction of the entire town.  Less than 30 members actually,” he offered.

“Sixth grade?” Stiles asked.

“It’s when we choose what faction we belong to.  90% of the kids stay with their parents faction, but it’s not necessary.  Ethan’s family used to be part of the Night Faction, but he and his brother went to Beast Faction.  It’s anyone’s choice, really,”  Derek said.

“Got it... “ Stiles said, nodding his head along.  “So..  Star?” he asked.

Derek smiled a bit.  “The Star Faction…  Well..  Curse broken or not, they believe we shouldn’t stay hidden in Beacon Hills.  That even if we remain cursed, we need to TRY and make ourselves public to the world.  Because as they put it, “we can’t keep living like this”,” he explained.

Stiles smiled.  “That’s cool.  I mean…  I get why that would be HARD, but…  Not impossible,” he offered.

Whining, Ethan buried his face in Sties’ crotch.

With a dark frown, Derek looked away.  “They’ve tried on a few occasions.  Isolated “coming out” situations made up of volunteers who spent years making sure they couldn’t be traced back to the town.  The last ones to try it?  Well…  Let’s just say that their house fire in rural Arkansas wasn’t an accident.  They were executed by local hicks,” he explained.

“Oh,” Stiles said, petting Ethan in an attempt to calm him down.  

Derek nodded.  “We don’t talk about it,” he whispered.  He ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair, flatting a stray spike that hasn’t been combed properly.  It wasn’t him.  “So…  Now that you know, you’re going to be pretty popular in town.  Lot of people would like to see you supporting them,” he answered.

A loud snort left Stiles’ nose.  “Of fucking course.  I get popular now, in werewolf USA,” he said lowly.

Derek found his hand leaving Stiles’ hair and wanting so DESPERATELY to touch that face.  There was such a sadness in Stiles’ voice, he needed to be touched.  He needed to be comforted.  Derek needed to violently murder whatever made HIS Stiles that sad with a rusty chainsaw that had been-

“You daydreaming again?  You do that a lot, you know?” Stiles asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Ethan huffed through his nose, groaning loudly in the deep of his throat.

Derek shot Ethan a dark glare.  “Repeat that again and I’ll cut your nuts off and sell them to a fancy eastern restaurant,” he growled.

Stiles laughed.  “Dude, what’d he say?” he asked, petting and holding Ethan’s neck tightly as the wolf pretended to be a little scared for the extra attention.

“None of your business,” Derek answered, rolling off the bed and making his way back to Jackson’s desk.  There was a book that needed reading and an Ethan that needed ignoring.

“Aww…  Well he’s just a big ol’ meanie head isn’t he?” Stiles said, rolling around on the bed with Ethan as the wolf wagged his tail wildly.  Derek tried not to be jealous.  It was just wrestling.  Complete platonic wrestling.  Completely platonic wrestling that he was going to punish Ethan for later.

Which thankfully was interrupted as the door to Jackson’s room swung open rapidly.

Stiles looked up from Ethan, and should have known something was going on based on the fact that Ethan leapt off and kept a fairly safe distance.

The sight, a tall woman with wavy brown hair and an AMAZING combination brown/turquoise top immediately impressed Stiles.  Though in a flash of deja vu, tears gathered up in her eyes.

“YOU CAME BACK!” she screamed, jumping on top of the bed and hugging the life out of Stiles until he began to turn blue.  Not far behind her, Scott leapt through the room, breaking Jackson’s bed foundation as he added to the pile.  

“HE CAME BACK!” Scott screeched, hugging the only free spot on his body. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Allison Argent,” Lydia said, sighing as she shook her forehead.  

Stiles saw her and Jackson entering through the doorway.  To which, she naturally eyeballed Stiles’ chest, exposed since Scott and Allison had all but ravaged the blanket of him.  Her usually confident face melted into one of concern.

“You’re choking him to death again,” Derek explained, turning a page in his book.

Scott and Allison let up, both blushing quietly as they quickly apologized to Stiles, allowing him to breath once again.

+

Stiles wasn’t even aware that Beacon Hills HAD a bowling alley.  Not that it was a GREAT bowling alley, definitely something that hadn’t been renovated since the 80’s, but at least it had computers to keep score on.  

After entering in their names, getting outfitted in shoes and picking out balls, Stiles got to see “real werewolf bowling”, and damn if it wasn’t one hell of a way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The wolves didn’t just ROLL the balls.  No, that’d be too easy for their hand-eye coordination advantage.  They had to be show-offs and actually do ridiculous trick-shots.  

Jackson used his nose to bowl three frames completely blindfolded, getting bored as he got three strikes in a row, and switched to bowling two alleys simultaneously blindfolded.  Naturally, he got strikes doing that too.

Scott was a little more imaginative.  He and Allison tag-teamed, using two balls to knock down all the pins in two lanes, generally ending their spectacular shots with a kiss on the lips.

Derek was…  Actually Derek was being pretty unique.  He let Ethan on the alleyway, acting as a goalie to stop his ball from advancing, letting the wolf take part in the activities as well.  Though Stiles thought Derek was probably throwing the ball too hard.  Not that Ethan minded much, he was kicking Derek’s ass thanks to the brilliant “just lie down on the alley and pant like a smug asshole” when dashing back and forth or blocking the ball with his snout and claws didn’t work right.

Lydia bowled normally with Stiles in their own alleys.  Not that Stiles actually bowled all that much.  He was more interested in watching the scenes unfold with his new friends.  

That is, until Lydia poked him HARD in the side with her bony finger.

“It’s YOUR turn,” she whined, slamming Stiles’ ball into his groin.  

Huffing, Stiles JUST missed Scott and Allison doing a backflip double strike, and begrudgingly made his way to the alley.  

With a deep breath, he hefted up his ball and took aim.  Then, with as much accuracy and grace of a drunk duck, Stiles stumbled forward, rolling the ball…  

Straight into a gutter with a loud THUD.

Sighing, Stiles waited for the peanut gallery to chime in.

“Stiles, you need some lessons.  Because frankly, that was just awful.  0/10, would not ever recommend,” Lydia said.

Groaning, Stiles spun around, waiting by the ball return for his second shot.  “Come play me at tennis sometime.  I’ll show you a REAL 0/10.  Which is the score you’d have after playing ME,” he said, sticking his tongue out at Lydia.

Lydia crossed her legs.  “I take that as a challenge Stilinksi.  I’ll crucify you on the court,” she answered, with deadly serious eyes.

“You play tennis?” Stiles asked.

“No, who said anything about playing?” Lydia answered, with an all too sweet smile.

A low level shiver ran down his spine, while Stiles grabbed his ball and walked away VERY slowly from the scary wolf-lady.

“Need some help?” Derek asked.

Spinning around, Stiles slammed into the meat wall that was Derek’s chest.  Because REALLY, nobody should have pecs like that.

Stiles pouted.  “Do I LOOK like I need help?” he asked.

“YES,” all the wolves said in unison, including a low howl from Ethan that Stiles didn’t need a translator for.

“Whatever, teach me your wolfie ways,” Stiles said, walking up to the lane with Derek walking  close behind.  

Derek put his arms around Stiles, showing him how to lift the ball.  So…  All you have to do is keep your arm straight, aim for the arrow one right from the center, and then let the ball go just before with a natural release,” he explained.

Hand in hand, they both walked through the motion, and Stiles let go of the ball in time with Derek’s suggestion.

Which, naturally, went right into the gutter.  Because two people bowling hand-in-hand was freaking impractical.

“I suck,” Stiles said, frowning.  He wasn’t used to heavy lifting, he was more about agility and smacking the hell out of light tennis balls.  Muscles didn’t mean much to him.  His feet were his weapon.  He sighed.  “Fucking pins.  I want to destroy them.  Violently.”

Derek smiled.  “You’ve just got to learn.  Trust me, couple of weekends and you’ll be a pro,” he said, patting Stiles on the shoulder.  “Here.  I’ll destroy them violently just this once.  Then, maybe in a couple of weekends, you can do it like me too,” he offered.  Derek moved to the ball bit, snagging Stiles’ bowling ball as though it were a pillow.  

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked, definitely spotting the flash of white teeth in a devilish grin.

Without so much as a warming, Derek stopped at the alley line.  He tossed the bowling ball once in his right hand, as if to accurately determine its weight.  Then, in Stiles’ abject horror, Derek chucked it like a baseball, devastating the targets as they toppled over in a nightmarish mess of pin corpses.  

There were no survivors.

“There.  They’re destroyed  Like I said you can totally do that here in a few weekends,” Derek said, with a smug smirk.

Their circle of friends laughed at the sight, as Derek spun back around to watch Stiles’ response.

Stiles laughed just like the rest of him.  He laughed hard, clutching his stomach.

Though…  The rest of his group stopped laughing after a few seconds  

Stiles?  

Stiles kept laughing.  And laughing.  And laughing.  Laughing longer than was probably necessary.  It..  It wasn’t THAT funny.

Derek hitched his breath, seeing as tears were running down his Stiles’ face.  

Derek’s face fell.  He couldn’t tell if Stiles was happy or sad.

+

_(2 years earlier)_

_Stiles flung his hands up, slumping down in his seat at the lilyvale bowling alley.  One of those high-tech disco neon light places that had gotten popular.  Everything was automatic and high tech._

_Though for all the fanciness, including the awesome Techno soundtrack playing overhead, Stiles would NEVER be a good bowler._

_He’d hit his third gutter ball of the night, and they were only 7 frames in.  7 pins had been his best frame, which was awful._

_Stiles waited for the commentary from the peanut gallery in the back._

_“Steph, you suck,” a large teen said, guffawing loudly._

_Stiles shot the blob a dark glare.  “Stiles.  I’ve been Stiles for years.  Get it fucking right,” he spat._

_Blob rolled his eyes.  “Whatever, you’re a chick.  Get over it and grow a pair already,” he answered._

_“Darren, shut up,” a dark voice said._

_Stiles smirked, glancing up.  Vincent, the copper-haired gallant boyfriend to the rescue again.  He had a significant high advantage over Stiles, and definitely was on the fast track to being the muscular jock god the kid’s father wanted him to be._

_Mr. Gasten, Vincent’s father, wasn’t exactly subtle in his being an asshole.  Apparently his girlfriend left him Vincent and ran off with some “hairy asshole”.  So Vincent never really had a good childhood, if the bruises and mysterious “breaks” were any indication._

_Still, despite that, Vincent was the kindest soul in the world._

_He was the only one who understood anything.  The rest of his friends could go to hell, but Vincent?  He got it.  He knew what was going on.  Vincent wanted to know about the steps he was going through.  The top surgery he’d be getting over the summer between their freshman and sophomore year.  Vincent had even given Stiles a T-shot after he’d started that a few years back.  That meant a lot._

_Assuming the asshole would ever come out of the closet and just be himself, Stiles figured he’d end up marrying the man.  Through 8th grade (practically ninth grade, it was basically summer vacation) WAS a little early to be making decisions like that._

_“Aww…  Vincy’s standing up for his girl.  Good for him,” another kid, a skinny prick with sandy auburn hair spat._

_Vincent rolled his eyes.  “That’s REALLY rude Paulie.  This is why we never invite you guys anywhere,” he said, stepping forward with an exasperated sigh.  He grabbed Stiles’ ball for him, putting it in his hands._

_“Come on, let me show you,” Vincent said, taking Stiles by the hands.  He put his hands in with Stiles’, showing him how to hold it properly._

_Stiles relaxed into Vincent, smelling the cologne that Stiles bought for him at his last birthday._

_“So…  All you have to do is keep your arm straight, aim for the arrow one right from the center, and then-” Vincent said, as the two tried to walk straight towards the court._

_“HEY FAGGY, TEACHING YOUR BOYFRIEND HOW TO BOWL?” someone shouted off in the distance.  A woman’s voice.  A nobody.  It wasn’t like Stiles hadn’t heard worse in his life._

_Still, the atmosphere sparked and changed in an instant._

_Vincent took his hand away immediately.  Stiles stumbled at the loss of touch, tossing the ball into the gutter and stumbling away.  He landed face first on the alleyway, hearing his nose crunch loudly.  Not a break, but fucking PAINFUL._

_“Ow!” Stiles shouted, reaching up in the air, waiting for Vincent to help him up and apologize._

_All he grabbed was air._

_Looking up, Stiles could see Vincent a million miles away.  Off near the snack counter, blending in perfectly with the crowd._

_He'd run away._

_Stiles barely heard the sound of the rest of his friends laughing at his bleeding nose._

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

True to her word, Lydia had cordoned off Sunday for herself, Allison and Stiles to go out on their own private shopping spree.  The Beacon Hills Strip Mall wasn’t all that impressive.  Just a two story building with the usual array of popular clothing stores, a few electronic and gaming stores, speciality shops, and a few fashion boutiques.

Out of the majority of teen-centered shops, Lydia pulled them straight to Abercrombie.  Because anything else was "beneath her".

Inside the pitch black store, save for a few random lights here and here, Stiles was rummaging through the male section, while Allison and Lydia kept throwing stuff in his direction.  WAY beyond his budget, but apparently Jackson had lent Lydia his credit card to use to buy him anything he needed.  

Which…  To Lydia and Allison, apparently meant buying out the whole store was acceptable.

Holding up a red checkered button-up, Lydia was already sizing it up against his body.  “This is cute.  You’re buying it.  Wear it with a white undershirt and the jeans we got you earlier.  It’ll show off your chest without making you look like a douche.  God I wish Derek took my advice, he looks like a frat boy,” she answered, throwing it inside the basket that Allison was carrying.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “I’m guessing that this is an order?” he asked.

“Damn right,” Lydia spat.

“Fine.  Jackson’s paying, anyway,” he retorted.

Allison folded it neatly, snorting.  “I’ve never met anyone that came to understand Lydia this quickly.  You really are quite remarkable, understanding that there is no defeating Miss Martin,” she answered, grinning.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lydia said, tossing another shirt right at Allison’s head with a loud thump.  

After having had ENOUGH of his own shopping that had totaled to three bulging bags (which he was sure was going to not even fit inside his closet anyway), Stiles pushed Allison and Lydia over to the women’s section.  It was his turn to force them into outfits against their will, starting with a pair of red jeans he jokingly tried to convince Lydia into.

She held up the vile thing as though it were infested with fleas.

“I question your fashion sense even more now.  I'm disappointed Stilinksi,” Lydia said, smacking Stiles in the head with said jeans.

“HEY.  I am fucking fashion forward as fucking fuck,” Stiles offered.

“Says the man who wore a hoodie to his first day of school,” Lydia spat.

“HEY, THAT IS THE MOST COMFORTABLE THING ON THE PLANET!  IT TRANSCENDS FASHION!” Stiles offered.

“It’s a cliche and obnoxious.  Half the school was calling you “lil’ red”,” Lydia replied.

“Oh yeah?  Well then in that case, they are all a doody-head,” Stiles offered smugly.

Lydia folded her arms.  “Doody head?  I’m disappointed,” she remarked.

“It’s better than what I was thinking.  You’re not ready for the full Stilinski wit yet.  Oh, you have much to learn young Jedi,” Stiles said, dismissing Lydia with a wave of his hand.

“Fool.  You underestimate me.  For that will be your greatest downfall,” Lydia offered.

Stiles and Lydia bore into each other’s eyes.  Tension grew in the air, eventually broken down by simultaneous laughter from both parties

“AH!  I’m so pissed that the boys have been hogging you all this time!” Lydia said, hugging tightly with Stiles.

Stiles nodded.  “Same here!  You and me?  We need to hang out hardcore.  Like world domination plots and stuff,” he offered.

To which, Allison snorted.  “Oh my God, I take it back.  I’m not sure I we're ready for a world with the two of you in it,” she said, plopping down in a leather chair beside the fitting room.  She stretched up her hands into the air, yawning loudly.  

As she did, Stiles saw a bright red scar across her stomach region in a jagged pattern.  As though it were a jigsaw piece.

“Oh…  Oh fuck, what caused that?” Stiles asked, pointing at the scar.

Lydia smacked Stiles on the back of the head.  “Rude!” she shouted, putting herself between Stiles and Allison.   

Allison sighed.  “Stiles, it’s the injury that caused me to take the bite, and basically why I became a werewolf,” she answered.

“Allison!” Lydia spat in a hushed shock.

“Oh it’s fine, I’m okay with him knowing!” Allison said, waving the thought off.  She turned to Stiles as both he and Lydia sat on the same leather chairs by the changing areas.  “I was on the verge of death.  Melissa McCall gave me the bite to save my life, and my parents took the bite as well in order to stay with me in the town,” she explained.

Stiles dropped his jaw, as well as the clothes that Lydia had piled on him, where they landed all over the floor.  

Allison saw his horror and patted him on the shoulder.  

“It was a car accident.  My family was driving back home late at night from a hunting trip when a drunk driver rammed straight into the passenger side, missing a red light.  Which..  Is where I was sleeping at the time,” she explained.  

Picking up a black top of her own from a nearby table within reach, Allison seemed to focus a little more hard on the clothes than the looks Lydia and Stiles were shooting her.  “Dad…  Dad ran me to the nearest hospital on foot, which was…  In Beacon Hills.  The doctors and nursing staff said I wasn’t going to make it through the night.  Too much blood loss, and the injuries were too severe to be repaired by normal human surgeries.  I was dying, and there wasn’t anything they could do about it.  Or…  If I did manage living, there would be multiple amputations, brain damage,  and I wouldn’t have any quality of life,” she whispered.  

Stiles felt his heart thud loudly.

“Then…  A single nurse came through.  Dad said there was a big commotion about it and that doctors tried to actually force this nurse out of my room.  Still, she came on through, thanks to the help of her two sons.  Teens that assisted her in…  As he put it “beating the living daylights out of full grown men and women like they were rag dolls”,” she giggled.

It didn’t take much to picture who she was talking about.  It also didn’t take much to picture a younger Derek and Scott helping their mom out in any way possible.  Stiles smiled, knowing he really did have good friends.

“Nurse McCall…  She told my dad that she could save my life.  In exchange for that, however, I’d be cursed, just like the rest of them.  She didn’t elaborate much,” Allison said, laughing to herself.  “It took all of ten seconds for my dad to agree, he really didn’t even let her finish saying what the curse was, he just wanted me to live.  So Melissa bit me, I recovered after shifting into my wolf for the first time.  Melissa said I survived because I never had my wolf before, so it wouldn’t have received the injuries I had from the accident.  So we both healed as we got to…  I suppose, meld our souls togethers.  My parents took the bite as well, and my dad left the military to come be the deputy for the town.  Then, I guess…  The rest you know, is history,” she finished explaining.

Stiles shook his head.  “Sorry…  I’m..  I’m so sorry,” he mumbled.  

Allison snorted.  “Oh please, I’m MUCH happier now.  Don’t feel sorry for me,” she answered plainly.

“Seriously?  Because I’d be pretty pissed.  You know, almost dying because of some asshole is a good cause to be pissed off.  I know I-...,” Stiles asked, blinking curiously as he paused his voice halfway through.

Beaming, Allison shook her head and patted Stiles on the knee.  “Stiles, I can’t let every bad experience in my life dictate who I am as a person.  If I moped around and thought “damn I died once”, I’d have a sucky life!  But..  Look where that led me to!  Look at where bearing through just a couple of bad months got me!” Allison said brightly, pulling out her cell phone and showing the lock screen to Stiles.  It was a picture of her and Scott lazing out on the McCall front porch, sharing a kiss.  

“I’ve got a boyfriend who loves me, and we’re basically engaged in wolf world.  I’ve got a bonded relationship with friends on a whole other worldly level that I would have never had before.  Sure, I’m cursed, but at least I’m alive, and at least I’ve got a future to look forward to.  A future that I can shape all on my own.  A future I wouldn't have had otherwise,” Allison finished.

Stiles lowered his head.  He fiddled with the clothes in his arms.  “That’s a..  That’s a good attitude to have,” he answered.  " _Wish I was that strong,"_ Stiles thought privately to himself. _  
_

After an awkward tension between the three, none of them bothered trying on anything.  Lydia bought Stiles an all new wardrobe with Jackson’s card, and they all migrated to the food court.

Three milkshakes later and a table near the mall’s middle fountain on the bottom floor, and things finally started to ease up a bit.

“So…  Jackson’s taking me out next weekend to Garden on the Villa.  It’s our four year anniversary.  I’ve got him a leather jacket, like Derek’s.  You know, the one he’d rather die than let anyone else wear or even touch?,” Lydia said, sipping her strawberry shake.

“FOUR years?  Holy crap, you guys started dating in the sixth grade?” Stiles asked, clearly in disbelief as he chugged his vanilla malt.

Allison chuckled, stirring her chocolate fudge milkshake.  “Stiles, wolf instinct is that we mate for life.  Meaning that Lydia and Jackson are bonded like Scott and I are.  We’re soulmates, and pretty much nothing is ever going to break that,” she said.

Stiles' mouth gaped open, in surprise.

“It’s a wolf-based instinct.  Finding one's mate, I mean,” Lydia said, smiling brightly.  “The beast inside of us sees our mate and begins an instinctual bond-forming, based on compatibility we can't accurately portray in human terms.  Over the span of a month or so, a friendship is formed.  The mates will feel concern for each other, wanting to protect and be protected, overriding their baser instincts.  Then, at some point, the bond will be made.  A mixture of true love, dedication, and endless loyalty is shared between the two.  A feeling that lasts a lifetime,” she said.  

Stiles raised an eyebrow, watching LYDIA of all people seem flushed and…

Happy.  Happy Lydia is scary Lydia.

“Whoa…  That’s deep,” Stiles said.  

 _“A meaningful relationship…  Damn, that’s nice.  Better than the superficial one I had with Vincent,”_ Stiles thought to himself.

“So…  What do you think of dating prospects in Beacon Hills?  Surely there’s somebody that’s caught your eye?  Wolves can definitely bond with humans, the human just wouldn’t feel the same bonding change as it went on,” Lydia asked.

Stiles laughed.  “Oh Lord…  After my last ex, I doubt I’d get into a serious relationship for a VERY long time.  What’s love anyway?” he answered.

Lydia and Allison exchanged worried glances.  Allison, especially, was struck with a look of terror.  Stiles missed this, as well as their claws coming out of their nails as they mauled their shake containers.

“But…  You know…  If I was going to date again…” Stiles mumbled, breaking their equally pained looks.  

Stiles rose his head up proudly.  “He’d have to be someone that wasn’t ashamed of me.  Someone who…  Someone who knew who I was, and who actually accepted that.  Someone who wouldn’t try to hide me or hide himself from the world because of who he was dating.  I’d want someone who loved me the same in the privacy of our home and while we’re out shopping at Abercrombie.  Someone in for the long haul.  Ya know?  Is that REALLY so much to ask for?” he asked.

+

Derek sighed loudly for the three hundredth time in the last few hours.  Still stuck at Jackson’s house (as well as the same page in his book for the last hour), Scott had somehow convinced him to stay with them.  

Mom was still working on talking to the Stilinski parents about werewolves with the Argents helping set the stage.  Apparently Claudia was taking it well enough, but the Sheriff was still concerned.  Going home wasn’t an option, since that’s where the pow-wow was being held.  Until they got the all-okay, there wasn't much else they could do.

Not that he really wanted to go home anyway.  Stiles would be back from shopping soon enough, and they were all going out for dinner at Grandma Patt’s Diner when they got done.  It was a small down place ran by a single grandmother that did all the cooking, while her 6 grandsons did the serving and general management.  It really was the best place in town for a meal.

“When’s he coming baaaaaack?” Scott whined, trying to focus all of his attention on his DS.  Which, unfortunately, wasn’t working.  Derek sensed Scott’s “itch”.  He and Jackson had it too, the unbearable need for attention from Stiles.  They’d bonded the night before with their human as part of their faction pack, and being without him was nothing short of miserable.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Ask again, why don’t you?  That will DEFINITELY not get old!  That will DEFINITELY make him come back home sooner,” he spat at his brother.  Fed up with re-reading the same page over and over again without understanding a word of it, Derek paced anxiously around the floor.  

“Great.  He’s going to put a rut in my floor.  As if you assholes breaking my bed wasn’t bad enough,” Jackson said, having curled up in the corner with Ethan.  He was in his wolf form, content to express his dissatisfaction through low growls.

Scott shot an annoying glare at Derek.  “You’ve been in a fucking AWFUL bitchy mood all day. You bit my head off anytime I mention Stiles.  Fuck, ever since Lydia and Allison left with Stiles, you’ve been-”

The room went quiet.  

Ethan curled his snout into a smile.  “Told you guys.  I can SMELL it.  He’s bonding with his mate,” he said in a short howl.

Derek growled in Ethan’s direction.

Shifting back without bothering to pick up his briefs, Jackson moved straight to Derek.  He pulled his friend in closer, and smelled his chest with a deep inhale through his nostrils.  He grinned darkly.  “Oh my fucking God, you DO.  You REEK of pheromones.  You’re peacocking and trying to attract your mate!” he shouted, laughing heartily.  

“Shut up, I am not,” Derek countered, shoving Jackson away.  

Scott adjusted his position ont he bed, sitting cross legged.  “Derek..  I’m in a bitchy mood like that when Allison’s not here and she could be.  Jackson’s douchery goes into overdrive too.  That makes sense!  Are you feeling like REALLY overprotective of Stiles?  Like, do you want to feed him, cuddle him and…  Uh…  Murder anyone that gets near him?” he asked.

“No,” Derek lied.  

Jackson and Scott exchanged smug grins.  

Ethan laughed through his nose.  

“Okay, so you wouldn’t mind if I went home with him?  Stayed the nights with him?  Cuddled him?  Ran my tongue over his face and kissed him?  Maybe even snuggle right up to his chest and-”

Ethan’s howls were cut off as Derek’s eyes flashed a dark gold.  He roared loudly enough in the wolf’s direction to crack Jackson’s computer screen and shatter the window that gave a view of the Whittemore backyard.  The room shook, and half of Jackson’s standing knick-knacks fell over.  

Every board in the house reverberated.

Scott and Jackson stopped smiling.  Derek’s roar was the human linguistic equivalent of a man on PCP threatening to murder one’s entire family and then shit on their graves.  A serious death threat.  Had the Whittemore parents been in the house, they probably would have run up and pinned Derek to the ground.  Thank God the Argents weren't nearby.

Ethan huffed through his nose, making himself comfortable on the set of blankets he’d been resting on.  His point was made.

Calming down, Derek ran his fingers through his hair.  “F… Fuck,” he grumbled, pacing back and forth again.

Scott and Jackson led Derek over to the bed and sat him down.  His heart was still racing, his beast blood BOILING.  He was trembling.

“Dude, it’s okay.  You’re bonding and it’s a fucking weird ass time.  You just need to take a minute and BREATH,” Scott said, shoving Jackson’s naked butt away from Derek to give him some space.  

Breathing in and out quietly, Derek came back down to his senses.  Falling backwards on the bed, he still felt his chest rising and falling in a quick rhythm.

“Better,” Jackson said, crossing his legs to cover his junk.  

Scott nodded.  “You with us again?” he asked quietly.

Derek nodded  “I’m sorry.  Yes,” he replied.  He shook his head.  “Yes..  Yes I’m falling for him.  There’s nothing I can do about it.  The second he rammed into me at school on his first day…  I felt obsessed with him.  That first dinner, I was so nervous that I could barely speak to him.  I didn’t know what it meant, but…  Fuck,” he groaned, covering his eyes.  

“You care for him,” Jackson answered on Derek’s behalf.

Derek nodded.  “Yeah,” he mumbled quietly under his breath.  Leaning up, he allowed Ethan to make himself comfortable under his head, acting as a pillow.  

“Gah…  You guys would be a hell of a lot happier as wolves.  You would have sensed this sooner and there wouldn't be any weirdness.  Human flesh is so restraining,” Ethan said, in a low whine through his nose.

Derek took a deep breath, content to shut his eyes.  Ethan’s aura so close to his brain was making concentration easier.  

Jackson and Scott soon followed suit, sitting on either side of him.  

“How the hell am I going to do this?  He’s not going to feel the same way.  He’d..  He’d never feel that same way.  I’m a monster,” Derek grumbled

“You don’t know that,” Scott said, shaking his head.  “Allison and I worked out just fine.  I mean, granted, she’s a wolf now too, but she was a human for a good 13 years of her life.  Everything worked out for the best,” he offered

“Different.  She was a wolf, she could have felt the bond.  Allison had instincts by the time you two dated for the first time,”Derek spat back.

Jackson rolled his eyes.  “You act like we’re demons.  We’re wolves.  We don’t get violent, we have control all the time.  Well, unless you’re Ethan and you mouth off a bonding wolf like a dickwad,” he said, shooting an irritated face Ethan’s way.

“Do you really think it matters?” Derek countered.  

Scott and Jackson cocked their heads in confusion.

Laughing, Derek stood up from the bed, kicking away from his friends.  “It’s one thing to be friends with a wolf.  Anyone can treat us like pets and be cuddy.  You really think he’d want to DATE one?  Be trapped in this dead-end city for the rest of his life?  He’s got dreams.  Dreams too big for me or anyone else here.  I’m not…  I’m not going to ruin that for him.  Nobody tell him, got it?!” he commanded.

“That’s a fucking bullshit mentality,” Jackson spat.

Derek spun around, shooting Jackson an angry glare.

Jackson stood up, standing face to face with Derek.  “That’s HIS decision to make, not yours.  What, you think you get to decide what’s best for him and be the big manly man that does what’s best for him, without even consulting him?  What is this, the fucking 60’s?  Grow up,” he yelled angrily.

“Yeah!  He seems pretty fucking happy now, compared to when he first got here.  What’s it any of YOUR business what he does with his life anyway?  None,” Scott added, pushing his brother in the chest with his strong arms to bring the point home.

He felt a low punch in his gut.

“I’m just being realistic.  I don’t…  I don’t want to get my hopes up,” Derek replied.

“Is this about Danny?  Because you KNOW that wasn’t your fault.  Mom said it had to be one of us, and you…  You drew the smaller straw,” Scott echoed quietly.

Derek shook his head.  “I ruined his-”

“WE’RE BACK!” Stiles shouted loudly from the first floor.

The three of them jumped, listening as their three friends moved around downstairs, fumbling with shopping bags.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Jackson, cover your balls.  We’ll talk about this LATER.  Come on, it’s about time for dinner,” he answered, grabbing his leather jacket from Derek’s computer chair.  

He didn’t bother waiting for them to try an object.  The subject was DROPPED.  

+

By the time Jackson got dressed and everyone and they drove out to Miss Patt’s, it was already pitch dark.  Even for the tail-end of October, it was getting particularly cold.  

Not that Lydia noticed anyway.  Like most wolves, they were built in heaters that thrived in winter, but melted in the summer.  

Though it was obvious that Stiles was the exact opposite.  She watched Stiles sneeze loudly for the second time as they got out of the McCall family van.  

Stiles shivered out in the cold.  “Fuck, it actually gets COLD up here,” he said, shaking his head.  “I’ve got to get a better jacket.  Or maybe one of those Eskimo parkas,” he finished.

“Maybe if you didn’t weigh 80 pounds, you wouldn’t be so cold!” Jackson spat.

Stiles made a mocking mouth gesture in Jackson’s general direction.

“Here.  You can have this one.  It’s warm and reliable,” Derek grumbled.

Stiles jumped, feeling two warm arms coming around his body.

Lydia and Jackson both dropped their jaws, watching as Derek helped Stiles into his favorite black leather jacket.  The same jacket that Scott had been beaten into a wolfy pile of mush for TOUCHING.  Apparently it was Derek’s religious deity of choice, and he’d just…  GIVEN it to Stiles.

Hell must be freezing over.

“Wow.  This is like super duper warm.  Thank you!” Stiles said, zipping the oversized behemoth up.  He had to fold the sleeves up several times to get his hands to show, and the bottom of it went below his groin, but it definitely suited him.

Lydia wrinkled her nose.  Stiles smelled like Derek now.  He smelled like a pheromone producing Derek.  Like he was-

Grabbing her boyfriend by the ear, Lydia drew him close.  “Is  Derek…  Is Derek bonding with Stiles?” she asked quietly under her breath in a seething rage.

Jackson nodded.  “Yeah.  Apparently his beast picked Stiles to be his mate.  We are in for a solid month of one-sided romantic bullshit that’s probably going to KILL Derek if Stiles rejects his advances, or Stiles getting freaked out and leaving.  Derek already nearly killed Ethan this afternoon, I have NEVER seen him lose his temper like that,” he offered, in a similar whisper.

Lydia bit the bottom of her lip tightly.  “This…  Will be a challenge.  Derek’s an idiot and Stiles has ex boyfriend issues.  We’ve got what?  Half a year to break this curse?  For fuck’s sake...,” she grumbled.

They both glanced up, watching Derek open up the door to the diner for Stiles, who was already snug in Derek’s coat.

Jackson smiled.  “On the bright side…  Half the curse is already broken.  Derek loves stiles, even if he can’t admit it yet,” he said happily.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

Dinner was moderately…  Ordinary?

Derek laughed, gripping the steering wheel of his Camaro.  Could “ordinary” even apply to the situation?  

Still, it was “ordinary” for them.  The news about Stiles’ acceptance had spread out all over town by then, courtesy of the Argents and his mother.  Even Stiles’ parents finally had “accepted” them as well.  Not that they had much of a choice, but the scenes would thankfully be kept to a minimum.  

With this acceptance came the city’s typical scenes.  Entire packs out for dinner at Miss Patt’s, shifted werewolves dashing through town, or even just layout outside in the park, cuddled up with their mate.

Everyone’s guards were down again, and Stiles seemed to follow through with that same mentality.  His shoulders weren’t so stiff, his back slouched a tad, and just about every muscle relaxed around his new friends and new town.  Derek had seen the real Stiles that night.  

The real Stiles who actually ate a cheeseburger, because he was “starving”.  The real Stiles that laughed as Jackson told the story about Scott getting stuck in a dog door when he was a child.  The real Stiles who asked half a million questions, to satisfy his passionate curiosity.

Derek enjoyed the ordinary of their extraordinary.  It felt… Nice.  With Stiles there to share it, he finally felt at home in his own town as well.

Though the night had come to an end.  He’d dropped everyone off, except for Lydia, Ethan, and Stiles, both still in the backseat, surprisingly quiet after they’d dropped off Jackson.    

Pulling into the Stilinski driveway, Derek put his car in park and shut off the engine.  His stomach did a backflip, not at all eager to see Stiles leaving.  Every minute away from Stiles sucked ass as his wolfie brain made up all kinds of horrifying thing that might happen to the scrawny human.  He was a tad..  Clumsy.

“We’re here Stiles.  I can come snag you in the morning if you’d like.  Really, carpooling makes more sense with gas prices the way they are,” Derek said, getting out of the front seat.  He really should have taken his mom’s Range Rover.  Everyone cramming in and out of his tiny backseat wasn’t very fun.  

“Derek,” Lydia said, laughing.

“I mean, you can drive us in the Jeep some days if you want, but really I’d think you-” Derek said, interrupted as Lydia climbed out and smacked him on the head.

“Derek, if you’d LISTEN to me, then you’d see I’m trying to tell you something.,” Lydia said, smiling as she nodded in the direction of the backseat.

Derek glanced backwards.

Stiles was fast asleep, snoring softly as his head was laying awkwardly on the window, his mouth drooling as he slept.

“He conked out between here and Jackson’s.  I can’t wake him up, and I think that why are you looking at him like that?” Lydia asked, changing her train of thought as Derek’s face softened.  His jaw was down, and his heart was thumping at a million miles an hour.

.He was NOT about to crawl into the back seat and fall asleep with Stiles.  Every once of muscles in his body was SCREAMING for it, but he was NOT going to it.  

“Wow.  Very subtle.  I think Jackson had that same face the first time I let him see me without clothes on,” Lydia said, smirking as she poked Derek’s frozen face.

Derek shook his head.  “I’ll get him out…  And…  Take him to his…  Bed…  Room,” he said, clearly distracted as he moved to grab Stiles’ lanky figure.  After a few tries, he managed to hold Stiles wedding-style in his arms.  

“If you run off with him like when Allison stole Scott, I’ll chase you two down and have Argent shoot you in the ass,” Lydia said happily.

“Lovely, but I think his Sheriff Father would get to me first,” Derek said, rolling his eyes as he made his way across the driveway and up to the front door.  He knocked, and it was only after a few minutes he realized how ridiculous this would look.

Thankfully, it was Mrs. Stilinski that opened the door, and her face seemed to alleviate some of his worry.

“You drove him after dinner didn’t you?” Claudia said, shaking her head.

Derek rose and eyebrow, not sure what to make of the question.  “Uh…  Yes?” he replied.

Claudia giggled to herself, ushering Derek inside.  “Gets him EVERY time, I used that old trick on him ever since he was a baby.  He’s a sound sleeper, you won’t wake him up short of an apocalypse.  His father is the same way, though it’s pot roast and Wheel of Fortune that knocks him out,” she said, shutting the door behind her.  At least, until Ethan made himself welcome and snuck in through the crack at the last second.

“Oh!  Hello!” Claudia said, not phased in the slightest.  She rubbed the dog behind the ear, much to his contentment.  

Derek blushed, feeling Stiles wiggling in his arms, while watching Ethan shoot him a smug-ass smile.

“Ma'am?  Where should I put him?” Derek asked.

“So sorry!  His room is upstairs, the one on the left with the chip in the door.  Take him on up, I’ll go check on him later,” Claudia explained.

Not waiting for a further invitation, Derek spun around and made wait up the staircase.  

“Don’t wake up my husband!  He’s had a very rough weekend!” Claudia offered happily.

Derek made sure his steps were extra quiet after that, as he rounded the corner of the second story with Ethan close behind.  Sure enough, he opened the door with the chip and knew immediately that it was Stiles’ room.  

The room was COVERED in books, like a freaking library.  Modern novels were spread out over his bed, and Derek was impressed seeing several classics spread out on on the desk, and bookshelves overflowing with randomly arranged books of every size and shape.  

Then there were…  Guns?

A side desk was covered with discarded gun parts, and where Stiles must have been trying to disassemble a 9mm pistol.  He could spot dozens of notes and sketches, which looked like Stiles was researching how to build one himself.  Like he was an inventor of some kind.

Derek smirked, seeing dozens of tennis trophies laid out on a shelf above Stiles’ bed, alongside photographs of him at the events with his parents, trophy in hand.  

Thoroughly impressed, Derek realized he was still holding Stiles and immediately laid him out on the bed.  Stiles struggled as Derek pulled off his leather coat, but finally seemed to settle, spreading his arms and legs out like a monkey.

“Thanks babe, love you,” Stiles grumbled quietly in his sleep.  He grabbed his body-length pillow, hugging it tightly in his sleepy state.  As if someone belonged there.

Derek’s cheeks flushed.  He knew that wasn’t meant for him, but it still affected him.  

Happy that Stiles seemed happy, he bent down on the bed next to him.  Derek smiled, gently brushing Stiles’ bangs out of his forehead.  It was surprising how serene his face looked when he wasn’t talking or babbling about about world domination with Lydia.  So peaceful.  Like a flower that bloomed just in the nighttime, a rare beauty only seen by a few.

“Kiss him you fool!” Ethan huffed through his nose.  

Smiling, Derek did just that.  He planted a chaste kiss on Stiles’ forehead, before stripping off the jacket he’d given to him.  

“Not what I meant,” Ethan whined annoyingly in his throat.

“I’ll kiss him in that way when he wants me to kiss him.  Not a moment sooner.  This isn’t Sleeping Beauty, and I’m not a prince about to make morally questionable decisions regarding consent,” Derek said, rolling his eyes in the process.

Ethan climbed into the bed, laying across Stiles’ stomach, glancing up towards Derek.  “I’ll keep him safe and warm till that day comes,” he whimpered.

Pausing for a moment, Derek nodded.  “Thank you,” he said, laying what had once been his leather jacket across the back of Stiles’ desk table.  “Why are you helping us?  I’d assume you’d want to stop us from being together,” he said quietly.

Ethan swished his tail back and forth.

“Stiles is a good person.  My beast wants to help him, no matter what.  So…  That’s what I’ll do.  For now and until I die.  We bonded in our own way, and he’s my packmate in a pack of two,” Ethan answered, whining through his mouth as he made his head comfortable on Stiles’ chest.  His ears were flat on his head.

Derek smiled.  Apparently, Ethan had defected from his faction, not even realizing it.  “A dog loyal to its newly found friend?  Deucalion will be pissed he lost you in the BF,” he answered.

Ethan shook his head.  “Deucalion will be proud I’m listening to my heart, because that’s what we’re about Derek.  We are who we are, no apologies and no holding back,” he answered in several nonverbal cues with his ears.

Sensing the underlying (and very annoying) message, Derek sighed.  “Goodnight Ethan.  If you hump him, your balls are forfeit,” he spat.  

Not bothering to hear the snarky comeback Ethan had, Derek quietly shut Stiles’ door behind him and tip-toed back downstairs.  Mrs. Stilinski was in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee.

Derek moved towards her, suddenly self conscious as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Dr. Stilinski, the wolf upstairs is a friend.  He’ll keep Stiles and the rest of your family safe when we’re not here.  Not that I expect trouble, but I’d feel more comfortable with someone I trust in there with him.  I-”

“You love him,” Claudia said.

Derek tried not to fall flat on his face.  His flushed face met a very smug smile of Dr. Stilinski.  

“Vincent…  Vincent used to look at him the same way.  Then the way you talk about him, it’s like you’re…  Daydreaming of a life with him.  It’s adorable,” Claudia murmured.

“I uh…  I mean I…” Derek stammered, calming down as Dr. Stilinski put her hand on his shoulder.

“Would you like some coffee?  The two of us should really talk,” Claudia offered.

Derek nodded.  “Caffeine makes us ill.  Do you have some bottled water?” he asked.

“Of course,” Claudia answered.

After fixing herself a cup of black coffee and grabbing Derek a water bottle from the fridge, she sat down with the werewolf at her family’s dining room table.

“Your mother is quite a wonderful woman.  She walked Stiles’ father through the wolf story about 50 times before he finally got it, never once losing her temper.  All of this was…  A shock to us, and your mother was amazing to get us through it,” Claudia explained.

Derek smiled.  “Mom’s like that.  Then again, we’ve never had a human like Stiles not run away in terror before.  Stiles is…  Special,” he answered.

“He’s special to all of you.  It’s not anyone who he’d trust to sleep with him in a puppy pile like you all did the last two nights,” Dr. Stilinski said, smiling as she reached into her pocket and admired her new lock screen.  Her son in bed with all his wolf friends.

Derek groaned, realizing his mother must have photographic evidence of Stiles’ acceptance all over town.  And he was the boy’s pillow..  

“Stiles is…  Stiles is a good person at heart, who used to trust everyone without fault before.  A year ago, that would have been a common sight.  Today?  Well...  He just has a hard time seeing that good in people right now, since the…  Accident,” Claudia said, making liberal use of air quotes on the word “accident”.

“What happened?” Derek asked.  He tried not to grip his bottle too tightly.

Claudia sighed.  “I frankly don’t know.  One day Stiles and Vincent, his ex-boyfriend, were close as close could be, and then the next day I’m watching my son come through the ER with pretty much every bone in his arms and legs broken.  Three fractured ribs.  A concussion.  Bruises that covered half of his body.  One of the bones in his arms was inches from piercing flesh.  Even though none of those injuries were life threatening, all of the life was out of Stiles’ eyes.  Like a monster had ripped his heart out,” she admitted.

“Vincent did that?” Derek asked, feeling his blood boil.  He was contemplating calling his father.  Even if he was a piece of shit, he’d probably kill someone for Derek.  Especially if he promised to have dinner with the man.  He’d kill an entire town for time with his son.

Claudia shrugged.  “Stiles won’t tell us what happened exactly.  All he says is that Vincent was behind it, and wouldn’t elaborate further.  He refused to press charges, on some odd condition he made in private with Vincent’s father.  John wasn’t pleased with that, but Stiles was adamant and said it was “none of our business”.  Stiles is…  Stiles is very stubborn,” she answered.  

His rage subsided for a moment.  He recalled how Stiles REFUSED for Jackson to pay for his dinner that night and punched the wolf in the chest until he handed him the check.

“I get…  I get the idea that Stiles does what Stiles wants to do, and to hell with the consequences,” Derek said, with a sideways smirk.

Claudia laughed.  “I hate to say it, but he got that from me,” he answered, pointing upstairs.  “Oh his poor father didn’t know what he was getting into years ago when he married me,” she laughed.

Derek smiled.  Stiles had good parents.  Well, at least his mother was nice enough.  It was no wonder he was how he was.  Supportive families go a long way.

The smile on Claudia faded, as she sipped her steaming cup of coffee.

“Stiles…  Stiles can be difficult.  He’s a headstrong boy, even when he younger.  There’s no telling him “no”.  If he wanted to be President, I’m sure he’d find a way to make that happen.  There’s…  No going between him and what he wants in life.  Even if that’s a difficult path,” Claudia said, cupping her mug tightly.

Didn’t take a genius to know what she was talking about.

“He told us about…  Stephie,” Derek said.

“Oh, did he?” Claudia said, genuinely shocked as blood drained from her face.

Derek nodded.  “He’s got so much life in him.  Every inch of him is covered in it.  I was surprised, really, but it makes sense.  Anyone who has the guts to go through what he went through?  No wonder life means so much to him.  Seeing him play tennis was a treat,” he answered brightly.

Claudia smiled, observing the soft features Derek was showing.  “Does it bother you?”

“Does what bother me?” Derek asked, genuinely curious.  The question had gone over his head and into the next tri-state area.

Shutting her eyes, Claudia smiled.  “Nothing,” she replied, checking her watch.  “Oh goodness, I won’t keep you any longer!  It’s so late, and it’s a school night!” she exclaimed.

“Lydia’s probably going to murder me for making her wait this long anyway.  Thank you, Dr. Stilinski,” Derek explained, standing up and shaking her hand firmly.  He turned to exit the home, but was stopped as Claudia grabbed his hand.

“Oh, and…” she whispered quietly.

Derek turned back to face her eye-to-eye.

“Stiles loves roses more than just about any gift in the world.  His favorite musician is Pink, Fall Out Boy, and Van Halen.  His favorite holiday is Halloween, and he LOVES costume parties.  Christmas is hard for him, he lost his Grandmother then.  He refuses to participate in Valentine’s Day, but will throw a fit if you don’t buy him something small.  Chinese food is like God to him, but he’ll murder you if you try and make him eat something he doesn’t like.  He actually does love camping, and don’t bother buying him anything tennis-related, he’s the world’s biggest snob on everything,” Claudia said, in a rather rapid succession.

“Uh…” Derek responded, trying to both memorize the information and wonder why she was saying what she was saying.

Claudia laughed quietly.  “If you’re going to win him over, you’ll need ammo.  All I can do is be the pushy mother that I am and do what I think is best,” she said, patting Derek on the hands.  

“You barely know me…  How do you know you can even trust me?” Derek asked, suddenly nervous in more than one way.  

She smirked.  “Well, Stiles talks enough about you at home that I think I practically know you by now  Oh, and your mother brags constantly about you,” Claudia winked, letting go of Derek’s hand.

Derek laughed quietly to himself.  Stiles talked about HIM.  At HOME.  With his parents.  

On Stiles overload, Derek said his farewells and exited the house.  Claudia shut and locked the door, going back to her coffee.  Though it wasn’t long before she heard the door knocking loudly again.  

She raced to the door, and met Derek, who was fuming with a red face.

“Mrs. Stilinski, Lydia got tired of waiting and stole my car to drive home.  May I..  May I use your phone to call my mother?” Derek said, rubbing his forehead painfully.

Claudia nodded.  “You know, I think I’m going to like this town.  I’d also like to meet this Lydia person.  I think we could get along quite nicely!” she exclaimed proudly.

+

Stiles woke up to a familiar warm body up next to his.  In his sleepy state, he barely realized it was fur and not his usual body pillow.

“Woof”

Immediately awakened by the loud bark, Stiles realized he was strangling Ethan around the neck.

“AH!  Sorry!” Stiles said jumping out of his bed and letting the wolf breathe in and out to catch his breath.  

Ethan whined, curling up at the foot of Stiles’ bed, huffing angrily.  

“Said I was sorry!  You’re like an adorable pillow-dog.  Don’t be so fucking adorable if you don’t want to be hugged!” Stiles said, as if it were Ethan’s fault.  

Stretching out as he checked his clock, his eyes blew out as he realized it was 9 in the morning.  

“SHIT!  I am going to be so fucking late!” Stiles exclaimed, grabbing a hat to put over his horrible bed-head and jogging out the door, but not before snagging the book he’d been reading all week that was laid by his bedside table.  As he ran down the stairs, he nearly ran into his mother, who was carrying a tray of breakfast.

“Sweetheart, you’re up!  Goodness, you haven’t slept in since…  Ever!” Claudia said, grabbing her son by his neck as he tried to run off and out the door.

“Love you mom, but it’s NINE.  I AM LATE!” Stiles screeched.

Claudia rolled her eyes.  “Relax, I would have woken you up, what kind of mother do you think I am?!.  The school and hospital called to tell us not to come in today.  They’re having meetings to discuss us as the new humans in town.  Melissa asked us not to leave the house until she gives us the “all good”.  

Stiles stopped running in place, pouting.  “Could’ve told me that sooner!” he answered.  Throwing down his school bag, Stiles took the tray from his mother as the two moved over to the family table.  Stiles dug in immediately, appreciating the bacon and helping himself several times over.  

That is, until he cocked his head.  “How’d I get home?” he asked.  

“You just NOW wonder that?” Claudia replied, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.  “I worry about you somedays,” she said.

Stiles glared annoyingly at his mother.  “You should worry about me ALWAYS.  Have you seen me?” he asked.

“Derek brought you home and carried you up to bed.  You fell asleep in his car on the way home.  Then Lydia stole said car, did I mention I would very much like to meet her?” Claudia answered.  

“NO MOM, she is MY friend, and we’re plotting the downfall of Belgium as we speak!  No sharing!” Stiles whined immediately.  

Claudia pouted, shaking her head.  “You are NO fun.  You came in last night with a jacket on, it was very nice.  Who’s jacket is that?” she asked.

“Derek’s.  I was cold last night, so he gave it to me,” Stiles answered, without a second thought.  

Claudia smiled.  “That was nice of him,” she answered.

Stiles grinned.  “Yeah, he’s pretty cool.  LOVE his car, but don’t tell my Jeep I said that.  Super polite,” he answered.  

“Do you like him?” Claudia asked.

“Yeah, I do.  He’s especially cute the way he flirts with me and thinks I don’t know.  As if giving me a jacket wasn’t “I want to date you 101”,” Stiles said, laughing.

Claudia spat out her juice, covering Stiles in it.  She had to cough in order to catch her breath.

Stiles put down his bacon with a sideways pout of annoyance.  “Really mom?  Really?” he asked.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

The school assembly in the gymnasium regarding "the humans" was about what Derek had expected it to be.  A long list of "do's" and "don'ts" that anyone with common sense should know.

DO treat Stiles with the respect he deserves as a human in our town, "you all KNOW what this means".

DO NOT try and "woo" him into breaking the curse unless you actually love him, because you'll be wasting our time.

DO make him feel welcome, and DO NOT try and scare him off.

DO NOT creatively try and tell him how to break the curse, it NEVER works.

DO NOT bite him, or you WILL face the wrath of Peter Hale.  

Derek had zoned out somewhere around the two hour mark, and leaned his head back to meet Lydia and Jackson, on the bleachers above him.  "I'm about 100% sure Stiles would be pissed off at these people for not consulting him first.  He'd have plenty of additions," he said, with a short smile.

"DO make sure and feed Stiles a metric fuckton of curly fries," Scott added from Derek's side, earning snorts all around him.

Lydia cleared her throat.  "DO NOT attempt to compare him to any Tennis Stars, because they are "plebs" to him," she added.

Another set of hushed laughter escaped their group.

"DO NOT let him attempt to buy Lydia red jeans, or she WILL bitch and moan about it all night when we should be getting it-"

Jackson was quickly silenced by Lydia, interrupted as her heel went through his shoe.

A teacher to the side shushed them violently, throwing a wad of paper at Derek's head to shush their group.

They all rolled their eyes, and went back to the Principal, who continued to read off his "action plan".  Derek was about a good four minutes back into the snore-fest when he felt Lydia tap him on the back.

"So...  When are you going to tell Stiles about..." Lydia said, glancing around and noting that every ear was piqued, listening in.  Goddamn werewolf high school.  "About the THING?" she said, rather obscurely.

Derek huffed, not really responding to her question.  

"Yeah dude, I mean...  He kind of deserves to know.  That, or he'll figure it out soon.  You're sort of...  Not even the least bit subtle," Scott added, nudging him in the side.

Again, Derek ignored his friends.  He'd deal with the problem in due time.  Just as soon as he figured everything out.  There was more at stake here than just their town getting the curse lifted.  If they didn't break it in time, and if Stiles really DID fall for him?  Everything would crumble.  Either Stiles would be miserable, stuck in Beacon Hills for the rest of his life, OR Derek would be miserable, letting him go off and live his own life free of the time and free of Derek.  If the latter happened, Derek knew what was in store for him.  Another nasty wolf side-effect.  Like lovebirds, he'd get sick and die after his mate left.

None of them realized it.  Scott had Allison and Lydia had Jackson.  They never had to leave the town.  They never had to WORRY about their mates leaving them.  Falling in love with Stiles, a human, was...  Terrifying.

"Lay off him," a cold voice below Derek added.

Lifting his head up, Derek saw Isaac shoot them all a glare.  

"This isn't the time or the place.  Let him be, it's his decision, not ya'lls" Isaac said, wrinkling his nose as he turned back around to watch the assembly.

Derek caught sight of the man next to Isaac.  A dark-complected student that had moved to Beacon Hills from Hawaii way back when they were in middle school.  Danny Mahalini, the last human who had moved into Beacon Hills before Stiles.  

His story was a lot less...  Compelling than Stiles' had been.  Danny had gotten to be friends with Derek's circle, like normal.  In fact, he and Isaac were already dating, and just about everyone in the school had been holding their breath that ISAAC was going to be the one to break the curse.  The whole town was stressing him out about it, in fact, putting thousands of pounds of weight on his shoulders.  

About a day or two before the full moon, Melissa had told Scott and himself to decide who was going to "show" Danny about the curse.  The two had flipped a coin, and Derek lost.  

Danny...  He didn't take it well.  The boy ran off screaming, calling Derek a "freaky monster".  Running home in the pitch black dark, he'd told his parents everything.  After confronting the local police department (and getting the truth of the matter), Danny's parents flipped out worse than Danny had.  

They were all offered to either take the bite and live in Beacon Hills, remain human and have their memories wiped and forced to leave town, or remain human in Beacon Hills, but never be allowed to leave again without escort.

Instead, Mr. Mahalani grabbed an officer's gun and tried to shoot the entire police force, while Mrs. Mahalani tried to club them with an iron bar.  

Forced into action, the Sheriff at the time had been forced to put them both down.  Werewolves are not immortal, and both of the Mahalenis had attempted to murder.  It was, for all intents and purposes, Self-Defense.  

Without parents, and with a werewolf mate in town, Danny had been given the bite against his will.  He became a bitter shell of a person, and began living with his mate, Isaac.  He rarely came to school, and seldom left his and Isaac's room.  

The town's council and school administration chose to look the other way, given the...  Circumstances.  Isaac would bring Danny's work home, and Danny would turn it in through e-mail or Isaac delivering it.  He only had to come in for tests, which he did on the weekends, thanks to the kindness of Mrs. Argent, who moderated for him.

Derek glanced away.  It really wasn't his fault that Danny's parents went psycho, but he HAD been the one who triggered the events that lead to it.  He blamed himself for not handling Danny better.  Not...  Being there for him.

"I want to see him," Danny whispered, barely under his breath.

Derek's ears fluttered, hearing the near-whisper.  

"For what?" Derek asked quietly.

Danny's hand curled into a fist.  "That's MY business.  Arrange a meeting.  I need to warn him about all of YOU.  It's my right.  I'm in the Night Faction, I have just as much of a chance to talk to the human as anyone else," he said, spitting at the word YOU.  If it weren't obvious enough already, Danny's disdain for the cursed down certainly was then.

Derek sighed.  Danny was right.  Everyone in the town had a right to see the human now, not just the Night Faction who'd taken him in.  They'd try to get him involved in their faction, and either assist him in breaking the curse, or helping him to further their agenda and keeping the curse.  

"Fine.  How about this weekend?  We're going camping with the RC and Stiles is coming.  You can talk to him in private out in the woods.  I assume you'll want to be private?" Derek spat.  It didn't take a genius to know Danny was going to suggest that Stiles run away, or not bother with the town.  

"Yes.  Yes, I would," Danny replied firmly.

After that, no other words were shared.  Principal Thomas kept droning on endlessly about the importance of NOT shifting into a wolf form and humping Stiles' leg.

"ONE TIME!" Scott shouted loudly from his seat, much to the assembly's amusement.

+

Claudia kept doing double takes after hearing that Stiles knew about Derek's flirting.  They'd wiped up the orange juice she'd spat out, and she made Stiles a new breakfast.  Moving into the living room, they were basically just eating a fruit salad and bottled water at this point, since John hadn't done the shopping like he should have.  

Stiles was screaming at The Price is Right, verbally berating an old woman for pricing a DVD player at 7.99, while Claudia was nervously tapping her foot.

"What?" Stiles asked annoyingly, turning to his mother.  "You're tapping like a freaking jackhammer, and that means you either REALLY need to pee, or you're about to die from not asking me a question.  And, I'm pretty sure you're not needing to pee, since you spat your morning drink all over me," he asked, turning away from the TV.

Claudia shook her head.  "Can we have a total honesty moment?  Five minutes, humor me," she begged.

A mental groan went out in Stiles' brain.  Total honesty moments were created about the time he started wearing binders.  A period of five minutes where, no matter what was going on, neither Claudia OR Stiles would lie.  No clever avoiding questions, and no snarky answers.  A real mother/son moment.  Usually it was about Stiles transitioning, making sure he wasn't doing anything stupid like wearing ACE bandages or taking too much testosterone.  Though Stiles figured there was more to it.  The last stage of his transitionining, the bottom surgery, was still 8 months away.  So it couldn't really be about that.

"Sure," Stiles answered.  He knew it made his mother feel better, and he could call in this favor later.  

Claudia sighed.  "How do you feel about the werewolves?  Your father thinks we should run out of town.  He's worried about you.  Even if they are nice people, he's willing to do whatever you want," she asked.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "I'm fine with it mom, they're puppies.  Have you seen Ethan upstairs?          He was my body pillow last night.  Besides the fact that they know I was born a girl and don't care.  That's BIG for me mom, VERY big," he answered.

Nodding, Claudia smiled.  "Okay, I'll text your father.  He's been bugging me since his shift started," she laughed, pulling her smartphone from the side and typing into it quickly.  "What about Derek?  You know he's flirting with you, what do you intend to do with it?" she asked.

Stiles's face crumpled in confusion.  "No idea.  I mean, I don't even know him all that well.  He SOUNDS like a good man on paper, but then again...  Vincent was a good man on paper too.  Trust me, Derek's DEFINITELY my type, va-va-va-va-voom and all that junk, but...  It's..." he whispered, lowering his head.

"It's been three months, I know," Claudia responded, putting her phone away and moving over to sit next to her son on the couch.  She put her arm around Stiles, pulling him closer.  "Mama Stilinski still wants to cut off Vincent's balls, by the way.  Say the word, I have the medical tools to turn his blood into water and make him suffer an endless amount of hours," she said, rather too pleasantly.

Stiles laughed.  "I know, but...  I don't want him dead or even hurt.  Fourteen years of friendship trumps our two years of dating.  There's more to all of it than you think, but...  I certainly can't ever trust him again," he explained.  

"So...  Derek?" Claudia asked, knowing better than to go down the Vincent road.  It would be poor etiquette to use Honesty Time that way.  Stiles would tell them when he was ready.

Another loud sigh erupted from his lungs, as he laid his head on his mother's shoulders.  "I know it's corny, but...  I nearly melted into goo the first time I ran into him at school.  Then I'm seeing him be this huge force in the town's LGBTQIA community, even mentoring little kids and helping them make peace with their parents.  He's a literal definition of what a gentleman SHOULD be.  If...  If I'd met him before Vincent, I'd totally be dating him already," he explained.

"So then...?" Claudia asked.

Stiles laughed.  "I know, I know...  By that statement alone, I should be saying "fuck it", and just move on.  Because I shouldn't let Vincent win, right?  At least, that's what my brain is saying," he asked.

"HE CAN BE TAUGHT!" Claudia exclaimed, pressing a quick kiss on Stiles' forehead.  

Slowly, Stiles pushed his mother away.  "Shaddup, I was depressed, I get a reprieve!" he replied, feeling his smiles waver.  Had he REALLY thought just two weeks ago that he could spend the rest of his life alone?  Had he REALLY been in that dark of a place?  

Derek had been right.  Being around the werewolves really was like crack, their "aura" stripping away all of his insecurities.  Having good friends made it even easier to get back into his old rhythm.

Claudia smiled.  "I knew you'd come back.  So now are you going to REALLY come back?  That handsome boy I know turns EVERYONE's heads?" she asked.

"No, but I can be that awkwardly cute lanky nerd that apparently rustles Derek's jimmies," Stiles responded, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a pair of bright green glasses that he placed on his face.  "Pretty sure this will drive him nuts.  Sucks worse than my contacts, but hey, I think it's time I got a little flirty too, huh?" he asked.

Claudia snorted.  "Don't tell your father," she said, laughing to herself.

+

Life was just not fair.  

With the Stilinkis finally able to leave their home after the town-wide action plan had been completed, Derek had grabbed Stiles after school in order to go out and hang at the mall with their friends.  

Derek was perfectly content with that, but Stiles was wearing GLASSES.  Glasses that kept sliding down his nose, which made him throw his head back to over exaggeratingly fix the problem.  

It was one part adorable and one part sexually frustrating.  Any willpower he'd had in holding back his adoring little mate was waning.  This was made even worse that everyone had left them in the food court.  Because Allison was buying Scott some underwear for their "weekend camping trip" (Derek chose not to think too hard on that).  Then there was Jackson, who had taken Lydia to the jewelry store to pick out her anniversary present.  Though he knew he was actually just gauging for an engagement ring.  Most mates got married by 18, and those two had been dating longer than most.  The day was coming, that was for sure.

Though more pressing was the fact that Stiles kept running his long fingertips over his soda straw repeatedly.  He adjusted his glasses, smirking.  

"So...  This weekend's the big camping trip, right?  What kind of stuff does the RC do there?" Stiles said, moving to adjust his glasses again.  Derek wanted to growl at those long-ass fingers, PLAYING with those GODDAMN glasses.  

It didn't help that Stiles had worn his jacket long enough to actually smell like him now.  A fact that the entire town kept staring at him for.  His ears were already hearing the rumors being whispered around the mall.  

Derek cleared his throat, trying to distract him from all of it.  "We uh...  We've got fishing, hunting, campfires, hiking, and there's a basketball court that the city built out there since kids went out there so frequently.  Definitely won't be bored," he offered.

"Good!  I'll bring my tennis racquet and I'm sure the guys will love to play fetch.  I'm guessing you guys wolf out on the trip?" Stiles asked.

Derek nodded.  "Definitely.  Especially my kids, they love to curl up together and I usually let them sleep next to me.  For the ones still in the closet, there's just something about being able to sleep peacefully with people who know their secret.  No hiding from the parents under a roof, or inside a cage.  That's the real reason we do camping so often," he explained.

"That's cool," Stiles said, grinning.  "I understand that feeling.  Kind of like when you were my pillow that first night.  Felt good knowing you guys KNEW," he answered.

"You were my pillow"

Derek's heart thudded loudly.  

"Oh, hey...  Got a question.  Do I need to bring anything to the trip?  Like food or something?" Stiles asked.

Derek shook his head.  "No, the school provides us with money to buy burgers and junk," he asked.  

"Cool.  So what about like desserts?  I can do anti-chocolate stuff," Stiles offered.

"Nah, Mrs. Whittemore buys us catered dessert," Derek replied.

Stiles nodded, playing with his straw again.  "Neat.  Oh, and about how long have you wanted to shove your tongue down my throat?" he asked casually

"About a week or two now, I-" Derek said, cutting himself off.

+

Stiles noticed the silence before anything else.  He knew that his clever little ruse had surprised Derek, but what he HADN'T expected was for the entire mall to go dead quiet.  

All Stiles could hear was the water fountain playing in the background, and the music from the clothing stores playing in the background.  

It then occurred to Stiles that...  

Werewolves had very good hearing, and the mall had pretty good acoustics.

Derek was flushed, and Stiles was suddenly very embarrassed.  

"You uh...  You knew?" Derek asked.

Stiles nodded.  "Dude, you gave me your JACKET.  You sat next to me everywhere we went.  You let me use you as a pillow.  I kind of put two and two together, because that's not what platonic friends do.  Except maybe for Abby in NCIS, but you're not an adorable gothic forensic scientist," he answered.

"Oh," Derek replied, clearing his throat and glancing away.  

They sat awkwardly.  The whole mall was a silent grave, and Stiles knew that all the ears were on them.

"Stiles...  I do like you, very much.  It's a mating process.  Like Scott and Allison or Jackson and Lydia.  I..  I'm slowly going to fall in love with  you, and there's nothing I can do about it.  You...  You do have a choice," Derek answered.

Stiles raised an eyebrow.

"You're human.  You don't have to reciprocate the feelings.  I can't promise you anything.  I don't know what's going to happen with the curse, and I...  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to drop this on you," Derek answered.

Stiles laughed quietly.  "Good Lord, you're acting crazy.  Derek, I've known you long enough that I'd like to go on a date or two.  We don't have to pick out a wedding invitation yet, but you can tell me what the mating shit means later.  How about we start there and see where it goes?  If it's good, then we can go on.  If it's not?  Well, we can still be friends, right?" he asked.

 _"Stiles wants to DATE you!"_ Derek heard his heartbeat scream.

"YES," Derek responded, without even a moment of thought.  

 _"Goddamnit you fucking wolf-side, quit thinking with your dick!_ " Derek thought to himself, mentally swearing loudly so that his wolf could hear.  

"Great!  Chinese dinner date on Thursday and movies?  Gotta go to the early movies, because I've got an 11 PM curfew on school nights.  We can get all cuddly and disgusting on the camping trip," Stiles said, smiling as he took his glasses off, wiping them with his shirt.  

Derek nodded.  "Y..  Yeah.  Sounds good," he responded, feeling odd. He wasn't used to taking orders.  But with Stiles?  It did feel appropriate.

Though neither of them expected as the the mall went back to its usual roar of conversation.

Derek chose to keep the mall's wild discussions a secret from Stiles.  He figured his mate would figure it out soon enough, considering phones were flipping wildly and news of the human already dating a Beacon Hills Beast becoming the latest gossip.

+

Claudia had been hoping to get some sleep after Stiles had gone out with Derek and his friends.  Sleep wasn't a luxury she'd had in the last few days, but wanted to spend the evening with her husband.  He needed to know about Stiles and Derek, and definitely needed to know about how much Stiles loved the town.  

John could hopefully put away the grenades and rocket launchers.  

Though her sleep kept getting interrupted by Stiles' tablet.  The thing kept getting buzz notifications, and she finally got fed up and hopped out of the couch.  Moving to the kitchen table, Claudia snatched it off the table, glancing at the screen that was lit up.

 

_Messenger: <Vin>  Please call me.  Five minutes.  I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want to apologize.  Let me have that much.  _


	12. Chapter 12

Most of the youngest members of the Night Faction had played hooky on Thursday after lunch.  The principal had given them a mild blessing, seeing as their plot was to prepare for Derek and Stiles’ date, and his agenda was aligned with Night Faction.

Which is how they managed to go on the opposite side of town and into a stand-alone restaurant just across from the movie theatre.

Mr. Oum’s Chinese restaurant, Jade Dragon, was the only restaurant in Beacon Hills to offer Asian cuisine, and by that extension alone, made it a popular dining experience for the town.  It certainly didn’t help things that Mr. Oum made dinner an experience nobody could ever hope to forget, and would live in their memories until the day they passed on.  

His life had always been for the sake of others entertainment, and the town of Beacon Hills would never forget him or his legacy.  Mr. Oum gave them a distraction from the darkness of their lives.

Scott respected the man, watching as Mr. Oum, a tiny bean pole of an old man with snow white hair and a wrinkly face, busily dusting and polishing each and every table to a flawless shine.  Glancing around, Scott mesmerized himself at the establishment, which was constantly undergoing changes to make things “fresh”.

Decorated in regal emerald greens and lotus pinks, the decor was modern, chic, and looked more like a fancy nightclub than a restaurant.  Though it was probably the fully lit disco stage to the side, lit up in a rainbow of colors,and upbeat techno music playing.

“Dude..  This place is AWESOME,” Scott mumbled to himself.

Though a horse whip smacked Scott on the back, bringing him to attention.

“OW!  BITCH!” Scott shouting, turning back to the line he, Allison, Jackson and his mom were standing at attention, with Lydia pacing back and forth before them.  

“Where’d you even GET that thing?” Scott shouted, pointing to her horsewhip.

Lydia raised an eyebrow.  “My sex life with Jackson is none of your business,” she answered curtly, pointing her whip at the team.  “LADIES and GENTLEMEN, we are here for one reason and one reason only, and what is that Miss Argent?!” she said, not unlike a drill sergeant.

“To be HUMAN!” Allison shouted eagerly, saluting Lydia in the process.

“And get Derek laid!” Scott added as a joke.

Allison and Lydia both slapped Scott on the back of the head.

“OW, it was a JOKE!” Scott shouted again bitterly.

Huffing, Lydia shook her head.  “Operation Sterek is GO.  Our objection tonight is to make Stiles and Derek’s first date be FLAWLESS.  First dates and first impressions are the stepping stones to a long and healthy relationship!  If we want true love’s first kiss to be a reality, tonight is the tonight to make everything PERFECT!” she exclaimed.

Scott raised a hand.  “Shouldn’t we just let them do their thing then?  It’s not really true love if we get involved, right?” he asked.

Lydia shot Scott a dark glare, to which he immediately covered his head.  

“Jackson!  You go make sure Derek doesn’t dress like a slob.  NOW!” Lydia ordered.

Her boyfriend saluted and ran out of the restaurant to do as she requested.  

Turning to Allison and Mrs. McCall, Lydia pointed around the restaurant.  “My mom and dad paid to rent out the entire place for Derek and Stiles to have privacy, and Mrs. Whittemore has flowers coming soon.  Decorate, polish and do everything to help Mr. Oum out.  I hear that Stiles likes roses, to make sure they have red ones at the table.  OH!  And make sure to take Derek some flowers to give to Stiles.  I’m pretty sure Derek’s dumb enough to forget,” she sighed.

Mrs. McCall and Allison walked off to help Old Man Oum, arranging the main table.

Scott raised his head again.  “No offense, but is this overkill really necessary?  I know my brother, and he’s not the romantic type.  I also get the feeling that Stiles isn’t either, or at least, not to this ridiculous level.  Like maybe just let nature do its thing?” he offered.

Lydia smacked Scott again with her riding crop across the forehead.  “Shut up and go to Mrs. Patt’s.  She’s got a special herbal tea she’s selling us for tonight.  Her best brew, and be CAREFUL with it!  After that, you can go escort Derek and Stiles to the restaurant,” she ordered.

Rolling his eyes as he rubbed his forehead, Scott sighed.  “Yes Mistress Lydia,” he responded sarcastically.  

Left to her own devices, Lydia took a deep breath.  Putting the riding crop down, she moved over to the table she was going to sit Stiles and Derek down at.  Grabbing a pink and green lotus-patterned soup cup, she saw herself in the reflection.  

Her human face.  A face that could be great in politics, flawless in law, a doctor that brought an end of cancer, or accomplish just about anything she ever wanted.  Yet, it was a false face.  A face that hid what she really was.  

A wolf.  A wolf that could never represent people in politics once a month, work in a great law firm on the late nights, or work night shifts in hospitals or labs.  As great as she could have been, a monthly visitor even more annoying than her other monthly visitor made it impossible.  

Glancing up, Lydia saw Mrs. McCall folding napkins into a wolf head shape.  She had a happy enough face, but  Lydia knew how much Mrs. McCall wanted to be a real doctor, but could never go to a full medical school.  Should could just apprentice with the other nurses and doctors, who had apprenticed with others around the country, and doing what they could with the internet and medical textbooks.  Dr. Stilinski was the only one in the town with actual medical training.  

Allison was right next to her, laughing loudly as she talked about what would do if she got to be human again.  She’d get a degree that paid enough for Scott to stay home with the kids, or at least make him flexible enough so he could work at home to get a degree in veterinary medicine from home.  Because, naturally, she was already wanting to have kids.  

Lydia put the soup bowl down, laughing to herself.  Then there was Jackson, who wanted to be a model.  Though with the modeling nightlife, that wasn’t an option.  

Or Derek, who wanted to be an author.  A dream of writing stories about werewolves

They all had dreams.  Dreams they never thought was possible up until a few months earlier when Stiles came into their lives.  

Dreams that were dangling on the thin thread of a first kiss.

Dreams hanging on the shoulders of a dorky nerd and their resident asshole Derek McCall.

“Yes Scott…  The overkill IS necessary,” Lydia whispered to herself.  She then silently wondered if releasing doves would be over-overill.

+

Derek’s room wasn’t all that impressive.  Mostly because he and Scott had shared a room since they’d been in diapers together, and the furniture was worn out and antiquated.  They never really had much in the way of money since the divorce, since his mother refused to take anything from their father.  

The room was covered in clothes, mostly Scott’s, and a pile of books off in the corner that dwarfed the tiny flea market bookshelf, making a pile that would give Stiles’ a run for his money.  Though instead of the wide variety of genres, Derek’s centered in historical novels, biographies, and half a dozen copies of the Grimm fairy tales or modern interpretations thereof.

Thankfully, they had their own beds, a massive birthday present at the age of thirteen.  Bunkbeds, stupidly, but better than sharing one.  

Derek’s, the bottommost, was covered in neatly folded clothes and dozens of bags from the local mall.  

All courtesy of Jackson, who had come over right after school, on Lydia’s orders.

Derek glared at himself in the mirror.  Jackson had dressed him up in a sports coat and tan slacks that made him look like a teenage college professor.  The latest in many “attempts” to make him look “right” for Stiles.

“No,” Derek answered, peeling off the jacket and flinging it across the room.

Jackson groaned.  “DEREK, you were wearing a ratty plaid shirt when I walked in.  NO,” he yelled, getting thrown backwards by the force of Derek’s tan pants hitting him in the face.  

Walking to his and Scott’s shared dresser in just his boxers, Derek shoved open the topmost drawer, which held his shirts.  He snagged a black one and threw it over his chest.  “I’m not dressing up like a monkey.  That’s not who I am, and I seriously doubt that Stiles is going to overdress for a FIRST date.  I’ll wear what I want and Lydia can STICK IT,” he ordered.

“Famous last words,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes.  

Derek ran open the second drawer, pulling out a pair of clean dark blue jeans that he shoved his legs through.  “Make yourself useful and grab me the like…  Black and grey colored sweater thingy?  It’s in the closet,” he mumbled.  

Huffing, Jackson did as he was told, moving towards the closet and grabbing to the one he knew Derek was talking about.  He wore it all the fucking time, even when it probably wasn’t clean.  “Here,” he said, throwing it to Derek, who caught it mid-air.

Derek shoved it over his body, where Jackson actually did notice it looked pretty good on him.  Natural, less than professional or even remotely romantic, but…  Very Derek.

“I’m guessing the town knows?  About the date?” Derek asked.

Jackson snorted.  “Uh yeah, have you not been hearing the talk at school?” he asked.

Derek groaned.  It was a repeat of what had happened years earlier with Danny and Isaac.  Everyone’s hopes sky-high and hanging on to each and every thing he and Stiles was doing.  Not that Stiles had overtly noticed (though he MUST have had some idea), but Derek could hear everything that everyone was saying.

The Beast Faction howling all hours of the night about “the human”.  No direct threats, but several wanting to arrange a meeting with the boy.

Sun Faction going on and on about the “faggots wanting to ruin everything”.  Derek would break their necks if they got close, which he made sure Matt Daehler knew in great detail.

Night faction singing and dancing eagerly the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, which “Human Again” seemed to be the clear winner.

Or the Star faction adults, maintaining their usual level of pessimistic optimism.

Nobody wasn’t talking about them.  They were the Beacon Hills power couple and beacon of hope all in one.

Which is precisely why he wasn’t going to wear some stupid uncomfortable suit.  He was uncomfortable enough.  

“So uh…  You going to try and kiss him tonight?” Jackson asked, playing with his hands as Derek looked for a pair of boots that weren’t too muddy.  

“No,” Derek answered immediately.  

“WHY?” Jackson shot back immediately, shaking his head.  “DUDE, ONE fucking kiss and the nightmare is over!  Man the fuck up!” he exclaimed.

Derek growled.  “Because I don’t want to screw it up!  When HE is ready, I’ll kiss him.  Not a moment sooner, did you not HEAR about his last bad relationship?  Do you want me to freak him out with a kiss and have him run away?  THINK before you say stupid shit Jackson, it’ll get you far in life,” he retorted.

Jackson grumbled under his breath, folding his arms.  “Whatever.  Anyway, Jade Dragon should be ready by five.  Mr. Oum has the best dinner ready, and we got Stiles’ likes and dislikes from his mother.  It’ll be perfect.  Trust me, Lydia’s got everything flawless,” he answered.

Those words caused a small smile to form on Derek’s face.  “Thanks…  All of you,” he offered kindly.

“Well, we’re not just in this for the curse, you know.  You deserve your mate, just like the rest of us,” Scott said, trailing through the door and flopping down on Derek’s bottom bunk.  “PS, Lydia’s in psycho mode, don’t touch the flowers or she WILL whip you till you’re raw,” he said, rubbing his back painfully.

“Oh, well I better get down there then,” Jackson said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Derek SHOVED him and his implied sex life out the door, slamming it behind him.

Left to their own devices, Derek went to grab his portable razor to trim up his beard, which had gotten a little scraggly.

Scott, on the other hand, just sighed.  

“Dad called me.  He knows you won’t answer your cell phone,” Scott offered.

Derek turned off his electric shaver.  He silently sighed.

“He says…  He’d like to meet you and Stiles for lunch sometime soon.  I mean, if this is a real thing and if it’s…  Going to go somewhere, then he'd like to know you guys,” Scott said quietly.

“Over my dead body,” Derek retorted, switching back on his shaver to trim his beard a little more.

Scott groaned.  “DEREK, it’s our DAD.  Yeah, he and mom split up, but it was fucking MUTUAL.  It’s not like he abandoned us!  If you’d get your head out of your ass for ten minutes, MAYBE you’d realize he actually does love us!” he shouted.

Derek turned off the razor again.  “Scott, I’ve TOLD you.  If you want to have a relationship with him, that’s FINE.  I don’t care, and I respect that you’ve got some good in your heart to forgive, but…  You were too young when it happened.  You didn’t see or realize all the fights that led up to it.  The things he said to mom? NOT okay.  I can’t forgive that,” he spat.

“Mom WANTS us to have a relationship with him.  He’s not abusive, he’s not a rapist, and mom says he’s a nice man, just not HER nice man!  They're better as friends than lovers, how many times did you ever hear her say that?  You think mom didn’t say nasty things either?  Fuck, where do you think we got our mouths from?” Scott fired back.

“I AM NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TONIGHT!” Derek bellowed, nearly roaring in the process.  He growled under his breath, rummaging through his nightstand for after-shave and cologne.  

Scott flinched, pouting as he glanced away.  “Whatever.  Dad just wants to be part of your life, and you know what it means to him that one of his sons will be breaking the curse.  One of the descendents making things right.  Think about that for a minute,” he said, before storming off of the bunk bed and slamming the door as he exited their room.

Gruffly, Derek growled again, applying a thin layer of aftershave and a spritz or two of cologne.  That was about as “fancy” as he got.  

Picking up his Camaro’s keys from his desk, Derek froze for a moment, glancing at a photo hanging on the wall right above it.  Naturally Scott’s, it was one of them as little pups, no older than four or five.  Their father, a male with Derek’s face, but Scott’s warm brown hair, was hefting them both up on his strong shoulders on the family lake.  The Hale home was just off in the background.  It was about a year before things got too bad between their parents.

Derek scoffed.  “Peter Hale, you want back in my life?” he said, glaring angrily at the happy father’s face.  He grabbed the photo and slammed it on the desk, breaking the glass in the process.  “Not happening,” he spat.

+

Stiles was more handsome than Derek thought was possible.  Still sporting the nerdy glasses that Derek got hot and bothered about, Stiles had dressed in a button up white shirt and black sports vest.  A mixture of scholar and hipster, and matched Stiles’ personality to a T.  

The “drill” from Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski had been fairly tame at the front door.  Just the usual “we will literally murder you if you hurt our baby”, that Derek actually believed the Silinskis could pull off.  Though it was probably Mrs. Stilinski mumbling about how easy it was to mess up a bone marrow transfusion to a strapped down victim and make them die in agonizing pain that made him REALLY believe them.  

Though really, it was unnecessary.  Because it was Stiles pointing out that melting someone from the inside out was far more clean and cost-effective that made Derek believe Stiles could EASILY take care of himself.

He’d thought the worst of the evening was over.  

Oh how wrong he was, and there was no question about it.

Derek WOULD be murdering Lydia Martin before the night was over.  She’d turned Jade Dragon into…  

Well...

Jade Dragon had been turned into a formal dining area like some magnificent ball was going to be held, with enough flowers to make a David Tutera wedding eat its heart out.  There were DOZENS of hired waiters, in full blown tuxedos that ushered him and Stiles inside.  They were seated at a cozy table for two in the very center, where Mr. Oum had fixed up the lighting system to dance around them in vivid color patterns as entertainment.  They didn’t even have an opportunity to order, as soups and ginger salads came out.

Derek was searching for Lydia’s neck to wring when he heard Stiles laugh.

“WOW.  You seriously don’t do things half-assed do you?  This is AWESOME!” Stiles said, dipping his spoon into his soup and moaning at the taste, while taking in the whole place.  “This is so gooooood,” he said exaggeratingly.

Lydia’s death sentence had been postponed.

“Y..  Yeah,” Derek said, taking his own spoon and sampling the hot and sour soup.  His own body wanted to moan.  It really WAS good.  Mr. Oum had gone above and beyond.  This was the kind of stuff Wolfgang Puck would want to be able to make.

“Tea sirs? a waiter asked.

Stiles and Derek glanced up, with a pretty waitress holding a large white teapot.  

“Courtesy of Mrs. Patt’s.  Her own home blend.  She says its best natural, but otherwise, don’t use more than two spoons of sugar,” she suggested, pouring into Derek and Stiles’ cups after they both nodded.

Grabbing his teacup, Stiles sipped it naturally, humming.  “Yeah, sorry, that needs like ALL the sugar.  Definitely not worldly enough to do that natural, sorry,” he said, scooping a few spoonfuls as the waitress left the rest of the pot with them.  

Derek sniffed the tea, which smelled of spicy leaves that overwhelmed his nose.  No way was he drinking that.  He either needed water or actual Lipton sweet tea.  To hell with the fancy shit.  

Choosing to ignore the need for something to drink, Derek poked at his salad, staring at Stiles going to town on his food.  He’d definitely changed in his eating patterns, much to Derek’s relief.  As if he wasn’t just eating to live anymore, but wanted to eat to enjoy life.  Better than that, Stiles had gotten a little color in him, looking a lot less pale and more like someone who lived in California.

“What?” Stiles asked, laughing as he caught Derek staring.

Derek opened his mouth to lie and say nothing, but instead chose to chuckle.  “You look good.  Better than when you first arrived.  You look…  Alive,” he offered.

Stiles nearly dropped his spoon, while his glasses slid down his nose.  His face was awestruck, mouth gaping open.

Slapping himself in the face, Derek groaned.  “I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just you-”

“No, no…  You’re right,” Stiles replied, shaking his head.  He put on a brave smile.  “I uh…  I was in a dark spot.  After the accident, I…  I didn’t want to be around people anymore.  I just wanted to survive long enough, and…  I dunno.  Live like a hermit.  Be who I was without anyone else in the world knowing, and…  Not get hurt again,” he said, lowering his head.  He adjusted his glasses, laughing.  “Some life that would have been, right? I mean…  What’s the point of being “me” if I wasn’t really me?  The real Stiles Stilinski is a people person.  He’s someone who wants to be in everyone’s business, even if they don’t want him to be,” he said with a playful smile.  

Derek shot his hand across the table, fitting it over Stiles’ that was resting on the table.  

“What did they do to you?  Who took that out of you?  Who took that life away for those months?” Derek demanded to know.  He could tolerate a dinner with Peter Hale if it meant he’d murder Stiles’ abuser.  His MATE’s abuser.  Someone who’d sucked the life out of HIS love.

Stiles shut his eyes, letting the warmth from Derek’s hand spread through his hand.  His heart fluttered, and ripped open.  

“If I said I’d rather deal with it myself, would you respect that?  I know you and the rest of the wolves would rip his throat out if you wanted, but I’d rather do this on my own.  The past is past, and I’m not wanting to rip open old wounds,” Stiles answered, laughing as he patted Derek’s hand.  “Besides, this is our first date.  I’d rather not talk about sad shit.  Let’s…  Let’s talk about US!” he said, grinning as he plastered on a smile.  “So…  What made your wolf get all hot and bothered for this 80 pounds of pure studliness?” he asked, going onto his own salad.  Though he left Derek’s hand stay rested on his own.  That felt nice and warm, definite wolf crack he couldn’t get enough of.

Derek smirked.  There was something about Stiles that made him confident Stiles really could deal with the problem, and would ask if he ever needed help.  So he let the matter drop.  For then.

“I can’t speak for my wolf, but the first thing I noticed about you was your eyes.  Though all I can stare at right now is those glasses,” Derek said, chuckling to himself.  

Stiles smirked.  “I knew the glasses would get you hot,” he said, adjusting them seductively with his middle finger.  

They both rose their heads up as their conversation was interrupted by three waiters playing violins in a soothing, romantic melody.  At the same time, the lights focused on them, making for a vivid pink spotlight.

Derek and Stiles exchanged snorted.

“I’m guessing Lydia set all this up?” Stiles asked quietly.

Derek snorted.  “That obvious?  Sorry, they uh…  They got a little carried away,” he answered.  

Stiles shook his head.  “Nah, it’s cool.  Never apologize for having everyone waiting hand and foot on me.  Plus, this place is really neat,” he answered.

So they tolerated the overzealous musical waiters, the techno light show, a main course that could have fed a small nation, and the big “finale” of rose petals falling down and raining all over them.

To which, Stiles turned to Derek with a bland expression.  “Seriously, overkill, I retract all earlier statements of being impressed.  This isn’t a yaoi love scene, and I’m definitely not some starry eyed uke bishie,” he mumbled, wiping rose petals out of his hair.

“TOLD YOU!” they both heard Scott scream in the back of the restaurant, followed by something slapping their friend and brother on the back of the head.

Derek laughed, folding his napkin.  “They’re just eager to help us,” he answered.

“Pffft.  Between the mall going psycho silent with us dating, and our friends doing all of this, you’d think us getting it on would break the-” Stiles said, shutting his mouth as he put two and two together.

Derek’s eyes and jaw dropping certainly helped make things more obviously.

Stiles’ eyes blew out.  “Wait a minute..  Does us DATING have something to do with breaking the curse?” he asked

Growling, Derek knew he couldn’t answer that question.  He’d shift into a wolf for an extended period of time.  Any talking about the curse directly with a human would never end well.

Stiles shook his head, grabbing Derek’s hand and squeezing it tightly.

“No, listen to me.  Answer me THIS question instead, we’ll do a double negative and not talk about the curse.  IF you answered the previous question I asked, would you turn into a wolf?  Can you answer me that!?” Stiles asked, beaming from ear to ear.

“That’s not asking about the curse.  That’s asking about the consequence of the curse.  Holy fuck you brilliant little shit,” Derek thought, unable to contain a toothy smile.

Derek nodded, and nearly fell out of his seat when he didn’t shift into a wolf form.  Stiles had found a way to ask about the curse and had some background, at LAST.  

“Fuuuuck, this is like fairytale bullshit isn’t it?!  GODDAMN, I'm good!” Stiles boasted, with his eyes fluttering wildly.  Derek could tell that his brain was operating at a million miles an hour.

The revelation was short lived as Old Man Oum stopped by their table, smiling sweetly and handing them both fortune cookies.  He bowed and winked playfully at Stiles.

Being a sucker for fortune cookies, Stiles kept on thinking as he unrolled his fortune.

Unlike a typical cookie, this one was handwritten, in a curved writing.  Like the m’s you’d draw in elementary school to look like birds.

_“The future is yours, do with it as you will.”_

_+_

_Messenger: <Vin>  Please call me.  Just let me hear your voice and let me know you’re okay.  I don’t know how you convinced my father to let me live with my grandmother and him to up his parental rights, but..   Let me apologize.  Let me thank you.  Let me…   Let me have five minutes.  That’s all I ask for.  _

 

Claudia stared at the tablet she’d been hiding from Stiles, trying to figure out what to do with the damned thing.  It’d been a miracle she’d spotted it when the first message came across.  Since then, Vincent had been messaging Stiles every night, at 9:30 PM on the dot.

“What could that little bastard be wanting?” she asked quietly to herself

Ethan was sitting next to her, with his teeth bared and growling.  She rubbed behind Ethan’s ears to calm him down.

“I know…  I know..  I want to eat him too,” she said, resting her head on Ethan’s.

Sheriff Stilinski sighed.  “We’re not keeping him,” he said, nodding in Ethan’s direction.

“Yes, we are,” Claudia said, pressing a kiss on Ethan’s forehead.

Ethan snorted through his nose and sticking his tongue out in the Sheriff’s direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest in peace, Monty Oum. You inspired me as a writer, made my life brighter, and brought me a happiness from complete strangers on the internet. Thank you, for everything. 
> 
> Also, thank you all for continuing to read the story! What are the things you like? What are the things you'd like to see happen? I'm always curious about things like that! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Stiles had a hard time paying attention to the movie Derek had taken to him after Jade Dragon.  Which was a shame, considering he’d been wanting to see Captain Phillips for weeks now.  He couldn’t help it though, the distractions around him was too much to bear.

The biggest was Derek.  The lunk had a firm grip on his hand, and it was like sugar was running through his veins from the werewolf source, directly into his skin.  He wanted to both jump Derek’s bones and cuddle with him until the sun came down.  Not that Stiles was about to complain, his tiny little hands liked Mr. Muscle Man dwarfing his own, and the contact was comforting.  Really, just everything about Derek screamed “safe”, and he was good for Stiles’ psyche.

More prominently, however, was the other movie-goers.  

Apparently when Derek said werewolves had zero modesty, he was NOT kidding, because Stiles was about 90% sure the people in the top left corner of the theatre were having sex.  Full blown naked sex, because Stiles KNEW he saw a vagina the one time he dared to look back.

Or the hard core make-out session to the bottom left of the theatre that looked more like a tonsillectomy.  Seriously, he wasn’t sure what the guy was trying to do, but his tongue HAD to be within a digestible range by some point.  

Though there was a hot ass jock to the right with sandy brown hair, being a little more tame as he charmingly kept pecking kisses on his girlfriend’s face.  (Or what Stiles hoped was his girlfriend…)  That sight was at least tolerable.

Then there were their pack, in the seats just behind them, watching Stiles’ every move.  He knew they were there for Derek and to make sure he didn’t fuck the date up, but every now and then he swore he heard Jackson humming “kiss the girl”.  

Regardless, it was all far too distracting for Stiles to enjoy Tom Hanks getting shot at on boats.

“Sure this is a theatre and not an XXX club?” Stiles asked, after a particularly loud moan came from the background.

Derek sighed.

“Sorry.  Movies was a bad choice in this town.  It’s the only place parents don’t come, so the kids use it as a makeout point.  Or sex point.  It's been a while since I was here, I should have said something,” Derek whispered quietly.  

Stiles shrugged.  “Meh, movie and a porno in top right.  Two for one special, I approve,” he answered, squeezing Derek’s hand. 

Derek chuckled deep in his throat.  A long, breathy laugh that reverberated through their intertwined fingertips as Derek clutched his hand tighter with Stiles’

Stiles proceeded to melt.  He’d swooned before, but now he had downright fallen for Derek.  Dinner had been wonderful, even with Lydia’s overkill.  Derek was charming, awkward, and just as big of a literary dork as Stiles was.  Though Derek was one of those really BIG literary nerds who actually like learning from books, rather than using them for imaginative purposes.  Still, the conversation over dinner showed that they really did have a lot in common.  

Though most importantly, Derek was NOT Vincent.  

True to his word, Derek hadn’t brought up the “accident” again after Stiles asked him.  Trust and respect was a major deal, and Stiles was thrilled to see Derek actually take it seriously.  

In the past, when Stiles had kindly ask Vincent to “drop” subjects of discussion, the asshole brought them up like a goddamn egg timer.  Stiles just wanted to keep a few things on the inside, he was allowed that.  Zero trust.   

Or if somebody was giving Stiles hell, they’d get beaten up by Vincent, despite Stiles asking him not to.  Stiles handled Stiles’ problems, at least that’s how he wanted things to be.  Zero respect.

Derek?  Stiles had a feeling that Derek would both respect and trust him.  

“You’re overthinking things.  Your brain is racing.  Everything okay?” Derek asked.

Stiles snorted.  “No, you’re too hot.  I demand you grow a wart,” he said, shaking his head off.  He threw away his overthinking.  It was just a first date, and they had plenty of time to think about serious relationship things later.  

Unfortunately, a grunt from the male in the top left seemed to signal his “release”.  

“I’ll get right on that,” Derek said, leaning over and laying his head on Stiles’ shoulder.  “In the meantime, want to get out of here?” he asked.  

Stiles didn’t argue in the slightest.  Derek was just as uncomfortable with the place as he was.  Thank God.

+

Derek had taken Stiles out into the woods as their makeup date for the movies.  Which Stiles was amazed by, Beacon Hills really was a great place for hiking in the outdoors.  They hadn’t walked long, just barely on the outskirts of a park.  

The two stopped around a circle of trees in a thick green grass of a clearing, as Stiles inhaled deeply.  “Seriously, I cannot wait for the camping trip.  It’s been FOREVER since I’ve been out in the open like this!” he exclaimed.

Derek smiled.  “It’s going to be fun.  Can’t wait for you to meet everyone.  The RC really is a big deal around here.  Definitely helped me be who I am today,” he explained.  

Stiles spun around, moving closer to Derek’s face.  “Okay then, so werewolf mating.  What’s the first step in this?  First date?  I’m thoroughly impressed.  Definitely want to see where this goes!” he exclaimed.

Flushed, Derek cleared his throat.  “Well, I uh…  I-” he stammered, clearly thrown-off by Stiles’ directness.

“Use your WORDS,” Stiles said, laughing.

Derek tried to chuckle.  “S…  Scenting would be the first step.  At least…  That’s the official step,” he explained.

“Scenting?” Stiles asked.

Derek nodded.  “Basically, it’s a werewolf thing.  I want you to smell like me, so that everyone knows we’re together.  It’s both platonic and deeply intimate at the same time.  A lot of licking and gentle um…  Kissing.  Won’t do it unless you want me to,” he asked, tightening his grip on Stiles hands.

“Oh uh… Okay, is this like werewolf first base or something?” Stiles asked, laughing quietly.

“Yeah…  Most couples liken it to the first kiss after a first date.  Though others do it all the time.  I swear I walk in on Allison and Scott doing it DAILY,” Derek admitted, laughing awkwardly alongside Stiles.

Stiles felt his face flush.  “Uh, okay,” he rumbled out quietly.  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  He’d read enough smutty fanfiction to know what scenting usually was. Cuddling and rubbing cheeks together or something disgustingly cute like that.  “Then do it!  I’m good for first base, but if you try and steal second, I will knee you in the balls,” he joked.  

He prepared himself for a deep hug and maybe a lick across his face.  Stuff dogs did when they saw someone they liked.  Something cute.  Everything the wolves did was cute.    

What he wasn’t expected is to feel Derek’s arms scoop him up, and gently lay him down on the soft park grass.  Softly, Stiles felt Derek rub his hand over Stiles’s face, rubbing gentle circles in his forehead.

Sparks flew under Stiles’ skin, and everything just seemed to melt out of him.  Worry, tension, and awkward teenage dating left with nary a farewell.  He really needed to figure out how they did that, he needed to bottle that and put it into a psychological medication.  Werewolves could probably cure depression.

Though thoughts of patenting Derek’s hands disappeared with Derek’s tongue lapping at his neck in long streaks, following up with gentle kisses along the trail of saliva.  

“Oh…  Oh wow, okay, that’s like…  Goddamn, I’m…” Stiles stuttered out.  His skin was both prickling from the cold and blazing in fire where Derek was leaving his trail of kisses.  Stiles put his hands around Derek, and opened his eyes to find the were straddling on top of him.  Derek’s hands were running up Stiles’ shirt, rubbing his stomach and chest.  

Satisfied with the neck, Derek lifted his head up, pulling Stiles’ shirt up to reveal his belly, stopping just below his chest.  He continued what he’d started on the neck, taking back over at Stiles’ furry happy trail, moving up his stomach and stopping just above his navel.

Stiles was in bliss, throwing both of his hands on on Derek’s hair and tugging.  

“He…  He actually thinks I’m attractive.  He WANTS me.  Derek WANTS me” Stiles thought to himself, on the verge of crying.  Which was not cool, because boyfriends who cried during sex was such a freaking joke.  Still, it was so sweet and hot all at the same time.  

Which made his next decision all the more painful.

Breathing heavily Stiles grabbed at Derek’s head, pulling him up before he went any further.  “Whoa uh…  Yeah, that’s intense and awe-inspiring, but I’m gonna need you to stop,” he said.  Because frankly, if he didn’t, Stiles was probably going to flip Derek over and do something he probably would regret doing in public.  Sex wasn’t something he wanted to do without preparing Derek first.

Derek nodded, pulling Stiles’ shirt back down.  “Sorry.  I uh…  Sorry,” he admitted.  He looked embarrassed, like a virgin on their wedding night.

“Don’t be!” Stiles said, as they both fumbled to lean up from the grass and get to a sitting position next to the tree they’d started at.  “Don’t ever apologize for…  THAT!” he said, laughing dorkily as he traced his hands along his neck.  It was still burning, like a warm blanket covering his skin.  “It’s just…  That’s a little intense for a first date, and I uh…  Sorry, I should be sorry!  It’s just…  That’s a whole lot of intimate for me,” Stiles said, wondering why he’d wanted to stop in the first place.  

“I understand,” Derek said, standing back up and assisting Stiles up to his feet.  “Thanks for letting me do that though.  It means a lot for me and for…  Well, us being a couple.  If that’s what you want to be,” he explained.

Stiles beamed.  “Hell yes,” he said.  There wasn’t any thought needed.

Derek beamed.  The smile on that man was a good look.

Though Stiles ruined everything with a loud yawn.  All his energy had been sapped out from what Stiles assumed was werewolf make-out.

“Want me to take you home?” Derek asked, pulling Stiles closer to his body.

Nodding, Stiles took Derek’s hand and intertwined it with his own.  “Yeah.  Tonight was short, but it was fun.  I also now need a shower with all of this slobber on me,” he said, rubbing his stomach.  

“Just be grateful I was holding back.  Seriously, you’re probably going to walk in on Scott and Allison, and let’s just say that nothing is sacred when it comes to bodies,” Derek answered, as they began walking back towards Derek’s Camaro.  

Stiles grinned.  “Can we be that inappropriate too one day?” he asked jokingly.

“Only if you want, but I definitely would like to.  Revenge is sweet, and Scott and Jackson deserve SO much in the way of revenge,” Derek replied.

“I knew I liked you.  Dinner, movies, licking AND plotting revenge?  I’m head over heels,” Stiles said, as they both made their way into the car.

It felt good knowing that Derek wasn’t some creepy guy who didn’t know what “no” meant.  He wasn’t even trying to con Stiles into a round 2.  No, he wanted to take Stiles home because Stiles was tired.  

THAT was a man.

+

Stiles had luckily had only a twenty minute talk with his mother about the date, and his dad was already in bed.  So he’d been able to get in a shower and about ten minutes of reading in the living room before fatigue truly set in.

Though as he walked through the door, the sight of an open window and two solid bodies chatting with ISaac made him almost about face and go back to the downstairs couch.

Though he recognized the first body as Isaac, and the other one MUST have been Danny Mahalani.  Derek had told him about Danny’s past the previous few days, and everything about the parents that had been killed in self defense.  He’d also been told about factions wanting to come talk to him.  That Sun and Beast would want to have Stiles keep from breaking the curse, and perhaps the Star and Night begging him to.

One look in Danny’s eyes said that he had something else in mind.

“I’ll skip most of the story, because I know you know.  Derek told you, right?” Danny asked, hopping off the bed and standing close to Stiles.

Happy that Ethan was there with him, moving to Stiles’ side, Stiles pet the wolf’s head to calm his own nerves.  

“Yeah.  I’m sorry about your parents, I-”

Danny shook his head.  “I’m old enough to know my parents were stupid and overreacted.  Doesn’t make it right, but that’s not why I’m here.  I’m here to tell you to run away,” he said.

Stiles’ face fell.  “Why?” he asked.  He looked behind Danny, watching as Isaac’s face glanced light years away, glazed over and frustrated.

“They don’t care about you.  They care about you breaking the curse.  From the moment I moved to the town, they were WAY too nice to me.  I see them all doing the same to you,” Danny said, putting his hands firmly on Stiles’ shoulders.  “Then when they can’t use you anymore?  They don’t care.  They’ll bite you to keep your secret and you’ll be stuck in this town for the rest of your life,” he offered.

“Nah, they won’t,” Stiles answered confidently.

Danny raised an eyebrow.  

“Because I’ll break the curse.  I’ll give everyone their lives back and that’s all there is to this,” Stiles said, bending down and hugging Ethan’s neck.  “Or even if I don’t?  I get the feeling that my friends aren’t the kind of people to ditch me.  Isn’t that right Ethan?” he said, pressing a kiss on Ethan’s furry head.

A loud bark seemed to confirm his statement.

Danny’s eyes went dark.  “They don’t deserve to be human, they’re all monsters.  All they’re ever going to care about is their damn curse, keeping their secret, and living like beasts,” he answered.

“Yeah, I don’t see that.  Derek’s already been mildly psycho about me dating him because he doesn’t want me anchored down here.  Sooo… Yeah, big ol’ nope there,” Stiles answered, standing back up eye-to-eye with Danny and on his own two feet.  “I get where you’re coming from.  I appreciate the advice too, I just don’t see them the same way,” he answered.

Danny glared at Stiles, not breaking eye contact for a minute.  “You really want in all this?” he asked darkly, signaling to himself and Ethan.

Stiles nodded.  “Frankly, I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, and I’ve got a great circle of friends.  Like hell am I going to sulk about living in a magic town with a magic curse and a hot werewolf boyfriend.  Not to mention they know about-...” he said, stopping himself.  He’d said enough.    

Danny snorted through his nose.  “Whatever.  You’ll regret it, but..  Whatever,” he glowered, making his way through Stiles room and rejoining Isaac at the door as he signaled to his boyfriend to rejoin him.  

Relaxing, Stiles sighed.  That went a whole lot better than he thought it would have.  

“Hey.  Think fast,” Danny said quietly.

Stiles spun around, catching a VHS tape before he could accurately respond.  Glancing down, it was an ancient copy of The Little Mermaid.  It looked like it had been watched thousands of times, if the condition of the plastic box was any indication.  ISAAC was written on it in all caps.

“The Little Mermaid?” Stiles asked, cocking an eyebrow.  Sure, Disney was awesome, but it wasn’t anybody who kept a copy of the movie on their person at all times..

Danny nodded.  “If you asked anyone in town, it was their favorite movie as kids.  Something about that ending just really makes them tear up.  At the same time, Ursula was probably the worst villain in the world to were-pups.  Isaac used to have nightmares about her,” he said, rather oddly.  As if he were talking and dancing around the conversation.

“What?  You’re joking, this movie is pretty fucking tame.  Why would-” Stiles began to say, as a light bulb exploded in his brain.  He put two and two together instantly.  The only reason why a town would have the same favorite movie.  

“Ursula cursed Ariel to have true love’s kiss so she could be a human permanently,” Stiles spat out, barely able to contain a grin.

Danny smirked.  “Huh.  I never thought of that.  Gee, true love’s first kiss was pretty important in that movie, wasn’t it?” he asked, verbally stressing those four words.

Stiles stepped forward, clutching the old tape in his hands.  “Danny, if I asked you if true love’s first kiss would break the curse on the town, and if you answered me “yes”, would you turn into a wolf to silence yourself before blabbing the secret?” he asked.

Isaac laughed.  “Yes, yes he would,” he said, slapping Stiles on the back with a beaming smile.  “Knew you were smart,” he said, smacking a kiss on Danny’s face.  “Come on babe, you’ve done said your peace.  I need you and me in bed three hours ago,” he said, slapping Danny on the ass before exiting the room in a flash of seductive white teeth.

“I don’t know WHY I put up with him,” Danny said exasperatedly, but with a playful little smile.  

Though he did look rather put out and his face looked like he’d been through hell and back, Danny seemed to have a little weight off his shoulders when Isaac interacted with him.  Like a little light was switched on, breaking through whatever dim darkness lived in his mind.  Was that what mating was all about?  Did Derek feel that same way?  If they really got close, could Stiles get that same stupid little smile.

“YOU LOVE ME,” Isaac shouted from downstairs, having heard Danny easily.

Danny rolled his eyes.  “Oh yeah, that’s why,” he laughed quietly, shaking his head.  He sighed, glancing back at Stiles.  “I don’t know what you see in them, but I’ve said my peace, and that’s all I can do.  I hope they don’t hurt you like they hurt me,’ he said, turning away. He started to walk, stopped as Stiles grabbed him by the shoulder.  

“Hey uh…  You know…  If you want to hang out sometime…  I mean, me, you and Isaac?  I’m here anytime.  I know you hate the town, but I’m uh…  I’m not this town,” Stiles offered, patting Danny.

A low hum escaped Danny’s mouth.  He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either.  All he did was leave, snatching the VHS tape out of Stiles’ hands.

Stiles sighed, folding his arms.  “What a big ol’ softie on the inside,” he said, shaking his head as he plopped down on the bed.  He shimmed out of his clothes, leaving just his boxer shorts and bare skin.  raising up, he threw open the window, letting the cool night breeze prickle at his skin.  He’d started opening the windows again at night, like he used to back in Lilyvale.  There was something about the fresh air that made him feel alive.  

Though he immediately shivered because the fresh air was also cold as fucking hell frozen over.

Thankfully, before he knew it, fur-butt had cuddled up beside him, bringing Stiles a blanket from downstairs.  

“Aw, my favorite electric blanket and cuddle toy,” Stiles said, hugging Ethan as they both settle down.  He’d had Ethan living with him for a week now, and he was pretty sure that he couldn’t live without the furball anymore.  Though he was particularly pissed off that Ethan and his mother had gotten just as close.  Ethan was HIS ball of love.

“Rrroow?” Ethan asked, laying his head on Stiles’ bare stomach..

Stiles assumed he was asking about the date.  He’d gotten a second sense about Ethan.  Especially the ear wiggling, which meant “feed me or I’m going to throw a bitch fit”.  

“It was good.  Derek’s nice, and goddamn is he a hunk of dream meatloaf.  He’s just as nice too, very gentlemanly and didn’t throw a fit about my ex when I-”

Stiles train of thought was disturbed as he felt his tablet to the left side table buzz violently.  

“Heh?” Stiles said aloud as he picked it up and brought it to his face.

 

_Vin:  Call me Stiles.  I know what we had, and I know you want me back.  I’ve tried being nice, but this is getting ridiculous.  Let me apologize.  Let me make this right, and let’s get back on the right foot.  I’m getting off for Thanksgiving break, and I want to come see you.  Grandma is lending me the car.  I can be there in just a few hours._

 

Ethan looked at Stiles worryingly.  He and Claudia had agreed to let Stiles handle the ex-boyfriend.  It was, after all, his problem, and wouldn’t be right to interfere unless it got serious.  

The stupid ex boyfriend was going to fuck everything up.  Ethan was about ready to run out in the night, track the asshole down and then proceed to destroy him limb by limb.

That is, until Stiles rolled his eyes and sighed at the tablet.  “Oh for fuck’s sake, what a baby.  Seriously, I could vomit,” he said.  It took all of ten minutes for Stiles to block Vincent from his skype messenger.  He’d forgotten to take him off since he never used the damn thing except for the time he and  his mom had gone to Hawaii for spring break.

Stiles threw the tablet to the side of the bed, turning back to Ethan.  “Anyway, so Derek took me to Jade Dragon, where we had the corniest dinner service ever, but I’m NEVER going to ever forget it as long as I live!” he exclaimed.

Ethan relaxed as he felt Stiles genuinely relax.  Vincent was a faraway memory, as stories of Derek replaced whatever bad memories was lingering inside of his mind.  

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

Being scented turned out to be a bigger deal than Stiles had expected.  Even after showering the night of the date and the morning before school, Stiles knew he had a new “funk” about him.  Like he had a mild cologne on him, subtle, yet…  There.

Naturally, there had been quite an odd number of looks as he walked from the parking lot and into the school entrance. 

The first one came from Matt Daehler, who wrinkled his nose in horror with the rest of his Sun Faction buddies.  Stiles thought it was odd at first, but then put two and two together as he heard a few derogatory slurs thrown his way, starting with “the fags are dating, we’re fucked”.  He was a tad frightened by their angry glares, up until Lydia joined and shielded him from their growing rage faces.  They backed off immediately while the woman growled.

Next up was, naturally, Lydia, who had come to his rescue.  Lydia nearly fainted, getting held up by Allison after a few sniffs of the air after getting close enough to Stiles.  Questionable jokes regarding Stiles’ ability to wear white on his wedding day arose, to which Stiles retorted regarding Lydia’s likelihood of having a sub collar for Jackson as an engagement ring.

Then came Scott.  He sniffed the air for a few minutes when Stiles was getting books out of his locker, and then oddly threw his nose into Stiles’ tummy, where he inhaled deeply.  Stiles figured it was a wolf nose thing, but quickly changed his mind as Scott’s teeth flashed in white.  He didn’t say anything, but did slap Stiles’ ass and utter a very manly “congrats”.

Jackson smirked, doing much of the same on their way to first period.  He leaned in lay his head on Stiles’ shoulder as he walked, before sniffing his neck.  Then it was fairly obvious when Jackson mumbled happily with a soft smile.  

“You smell like Derek.  Like not even just secondhand Derek, but his saliva’s stuck in your skin now, and holy fuck that is awesome you two are actually mating now,” Jackson said, putting his arm around Stiles’ waist and pulling him close.  “I guess the date went well?  Derek didn’t do anything dumb did he?” he asked.

Stiles pushed Jackson off him as they walked together towards his first period class.  “Yes, the date went VERY well.  Excellent food, a shitty movie theater that doubled as a sex palace, and then he made out with my neck and stomach, which was SUPER hot.  Could have handled a little more, but damn if I didn’t get hot and bothered and asked him to stop,” he answered.

“That’s normal,” Lydia said, as she leaned up against a locker to nuzzle the top of Stiles’ shoulder.  “Werewolf sex is AMAZING though, the aura like when we puppy pile is quadrupled and put straight into sex drive.  God, you smell like pack and that’s just amazing.  It’s like you’re really one of us now!” she explained..  

“One of us?” Stiles asked cautiously.

Scott nodded, rubbing his cheeks all over the opposite shoulder.  He was careful not to go anywhere near Stiles’ neck.  “You were an outsider before.  To get in ourpack, you have to be let in by the pack leader, or by mating into it,” he explained.

“Oh?  Who’s the pack leader and why haven’t I been accepted yet?” Stiles replied, as he awkwardly felt Jackson steal his left hand and rub his cheek into it.  

“So no uh…  No kisses with Derek yet?” Jackson asked curiously, deftly avoiding the line of questioning Stiles had gone down..

“You mean like the one that will break the curse?” Stiles asked eagerly, immediately forgetting about the pack leader.  .

Jackson’s jaw dropped.  “For fuck’s sake, Derek SAID you figured part of the curse out, but now you know the whole story?!” he exclaimed.

Stiles nodded, watching the rest of his friends drop their mouths in awe.  The cuddling went into overdrive, while Allison was hanging onto Stiles’ head, lording her superior height over him   “Yep.  Danny helped me with the last part,” Stiles explained, shutting the locker as he had four full-grown ass werewolves manhandling him.  They were moderately annoying by that point, a lot more clingy than even at their last sleepover.

Before the adequate shock of hearing Danny’s name sank in, the group had their mouths gawk as Derek slid in next to Stiles, running his hand around Stiles’s waist.  He kicked the rest of his pack away, leaving just him and Stiles to hold each other tightly.  In his other hand, Derek presented Stiles with a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup.

“Good morning, here’s a cup of ridiculously sweet coffee that I hope you enjoy.  I don’t know jack about coffee, but I tried googling it,” Derek said.

Stiles gasped, taking the thermos and rubbing his head on Derek’s chest.  “Aww, my beau knows!” he said quietly.

The rest of the pack walked away, moving to their own lockers to grab their books, but looking longingly towards Stiles.

“Can I scent you real quick?  Nothing like last night, I promise, I’ve just… I’ve got to touch you, I’m sorry, my wolf is going nuts,” Derek said, taking deep breaths with his nose in Stiles’ hair.

“Sure.  Be gentle!  We don’t need anyone catching on fire from that particular level of hot,” Stiles answered, as Derek released Stiles from his hug and faced him head on.

Derek pressed a few quiet kisses on Stiles' neck.  Nothing harsh, more like pecks than anything else.  It was quick, chaste, and finished with a hidden lick of Stiles’ outer ear, nibbling on the end.  

"Better?" Stiles asked, as Derek settled his head atop Stiles’ hair.  His obnoxious height was rearing its ugly head again.  Though there was something about Him being able to fit inside Derek like a glove that was oddly arousing.

"Better," Derek responded, lifting his head up and putting his arm around Stiles.  "Ready for tonight?" He asked eagerly.

Stiles nodded.  “YES.  So like…  Should I bring my own tent or something?” he asked.

“Nah,” Derek responded, shaking his head.  “You’ll be sharing a tent with me, obviously,” he answered.

“I will, will I?” Stiles answered, with a cocked eyebrow.  Was Derek seriously expecting to get lucky?  Or was he being aggressive?  

He tried to be mad, but with proper self-motivation, Stiles figured he could handle some more scenting.  Especially if Derek’s tongue was involved.

Derek nodded.  “Yep.  Me, the kids I counsel, you, and probably Ethan if you bring him along.  That’s about all I can fit in there, and you do NOT want to share with a paired off couple.  Werewolf sex is loud and violent, and Jackson is living proof,” he answered.

“Oh!” Stiles said, in a somewhat disappointed and yet also relieved tone.  There would be no scenting cuddle kisses that weekend, and he was feeling a pissy mood coming on.

Butting his head in, Scott shook Stiles' shoulder proudly.  "Dude, he knows about true love's first kiss!" He announced.

Taken aback, Derek instinctively pulled Stiles closer.  “So you..  Know?”

Stiles nodded excitedly, thinking back to all the research he’d done the night before.  “Yeah, and I've been thinking about it. TRUE means genuine.  Love means a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection.  First means…  Well, first.  Then kiss means to join lips.  So true love’s first kiss means a genuine joining of lips based on warm personal attachment or deep affection.  At least, where the dictionary is concerned, I have no idea on the requirements the witch set," he explained.  

Derek felt Stiles lean his head on Derek's massive chest.

“I don’t think we’re there yet.  We just met, so I can't imagine us being lovey dovey enough to meet that requirement," Stiles said bluntly.

Derek nodded, despite the groaning protests from their friends.  “I’d agree.  I care for you Stiles, but my mating with you has just begun.  These things take time, and I don't expect you to-"

Stiles stood up on his tip-toes, planting a firm kiss into Derek’s lips.

There were dozens of gasps all around them as Stiles held the kiss for a solid minute.  By that point, even Derek had leaned in for the kiss, raising Stiles up so he didn't have to struggle for the kiss.

In the end, there were no fireworks.  No magical anything being released.  No earth-shattering revelation.

The curse was not broken, and many eager faces turned into broken frowns.  

"Sorry, had to check," Stiles said devilishly.

“We’ll get there,” Derek said, pushing his hands into Stiles’s back pants pocket and groping his ass.  "Though you really just wanted to kiss me, didn't you?" He asked with a cocked grin.

Stiles yipped, throwing his hands on Derek's ass and pinching right back.  “Asshole!  Be gentle with those!”

“I hear they’re a real peach,” Derek answered.

“You did NOT just make a ass-fruit joke," Stiles asserted.

While the young couple bickered back and forth, Scott groaned at the sight of his brother trying to be sexy and flirty.  He immediately regretted any and all pda with Allison, because Derek was sure to exact revenge tenfold.

+

Stiles wasn’t all that surprised when the caravan of LGBT kids gathered together, and the explosion of personality went through the metaphorical roof.  Roughly 20 or so individuals, including Mr. and Mrs. Argent as the chaperoned, hiked out in the deepest thicket of the woods behind the Whittemore Estate.  Excited talking, hand-holding, and hushed kisses from some of the more closeted teenagers a few years younger.  

Though the more interesting sight was the five hanging onto Derek, bumping Stiles away without any sense of subtlety in their jealously.  A sixth kid, no older than 11, was on Derek’s shoulders, getting a piggy-back ride.  They were all talking at breakneck speeds, asking him a million questions and talking about all the fun they could have.  Then the kids would clutch onto every word as he responded, like he was their world.  

Next to him, Mr. Argent had kept a good pace alongside Stiles.  

“You’ve got a good man,” Chris said, smirking as another young woman came up to join Derek’s group conversation.

Stiles turned to Chris.  “So what’s with Derek’s rat pack?  Did he adopt without telling me?” he asked.

Chuckling, Chris shook his head.  “Derek’s a father for them.  Or at least a male figure that they need.  Most of them don’t have families, or the families they do have aren’t very supportive.  Derek’s the oldest in the RC pack, and they clutch onto him since he’s there.  He means a lot to them.  Hell, he means a lot to this town,” he explained.

“Aww…  Too cute,” Stiles said, wanting desperately to take a picture.  Ethan, having trotted behind Stiles the whole way, rolled his eyes.

Though he didn’t get a chance, as the group finally found their way to the clearing Stiles recognized as the one Derek had taken him on the night he found out the secret.  The wooden seating looked freshly wiped off, and several tents had already been prepared by an awaiting Mrs. Archer.  Lydia was with her, preparing logs for the bonfire that would keep them warm that evening.

“Hey everyone!  Pair off in your tents and dump your backpacks.  Come back out and we’ll figure out what everyone wants to do!” Mrs. Argent explained.  

All of the kids did they were told, including Stiles.  He followed behind Derek, as the half a dozen kids tried to fit into the 4-person tent.  Though Derek didn’t turn any of them away, but did insist that he and Stiles got the back area to themselves.  It was adorable the way they all clung onto Derek, like he was their big brother they never had.

Most of the kids escaped back out to meet up with Mrs. Argent, leaving Stiles, Derek, and one last scrawny blonde kid to unpack their sleeping bags.  Which, amusingly enough, was actually over sized dog beds and warm sheets from home.  Stiles guessed that there would be a huge puppy pile that evening, and that they probably didn’t need the warmth of a sleeping bag.  .

Stiles just watched Derek interacting with the kid, smiling as they both took the responsibility of organizing the beds and snacks in the middle of the massive tent.  It probably could fit about 4 people, like Derek said.  Thankfully, the kids were much smaller and could probably be “half-people”.  If they wolfed out, probably half-half people.

…

There was no fucking way they were getting any sleep that night.

“So then Bobby was being a pain at basketball practice and kept using his claws to cheat and dunk, so Coach Finstock made him run 20 laps around the school WITHOUT his wolf on,” the child said.

Derek chuckled.  “Serves him right,” he answered, as he dumped the entire contents of his duffle bag onto the middle of the tent floor.  Stiles gawked at the endless waterfall of junk food, and what was going to be ten pounds going straight to his ass.

Their conversation came to an end as the child turned around to face Stiles.  He spun around, clearing his throat.  “Um…  Derek?  Is Stiles your mate now?” he asked.

Stiles watched Derek get very flushed very quickly.

“I uh…  Well, yes.  I’m mating him right now,” Derek mumbled, looking between Stiles and his child.  “Oh, and..  Stiles, this is Liam, Liam Dunbar.  He’s one of my kids,” he explained.

Standing up from his sleeping bag, Stiles held his hand out to Liam.  “Hey Liam, I’m Stiles.  Nice to meet you!” he offered.

Liam took Stiles’ hand, shaking it.  “Hey…  Umm, hi Derek’s mate…” he said, looking incredibly nervous.  

“Stiles is okay Liam.  You don’t have to be worried around him,” Derek said, slapping the back of Liam’s shoulder.  

“Okay,” Liam responded, releasing Stiles’ hand.  He moved forward, sniffing at Stiles’ body.  Satisfied with the scent, a bland smile forming.  “You really are his mate,” he answered, laying his forehead on Stiles’ stomach.  

Stiles glanced up at Derek, curious as to why everyone seemed to be latching onto him.  He signaled downwards, as Liam began rubbing his cheek against Stiles’ stomach.

“Hey Liam?  Why don’t you go out and get ready with Mrs. Argent?  We’ll all go for a hike before catching dinner,” Derek explained.

Begrudgingly, Liam lifted his head off of Stiles and made his way out of the tent.  

“If it hasn’t been obvious…  Mating makes you a part of our pack, our…  Family.  By scent alone, you’re like a brother to everyone in the pack.  Even my kids, where there’s no blood relation, they’re going to gravitate to you as well,” Derek said, clearing his throat.  

Stiles blinked quietly.  Derek moved closer, putting his arms around Stiles’ waist.  “Family?  Like…  Werewolf family?  To everyone?” he asked, genuinely surprised.  

Derek nodded.  “Yeah.  Pack is everything to us.  Even though we don’t act like the Beast Faction, family is the single most important thing to us.  It’s the only thing we have in this world as the monsters we are.  So…  We’re a little crazy about our loved ones,” he answered.

“So being your boyfriend makes me a part of the family, and that means…  Snuggle time?” Stiles asked, as Derek pecked a few kisses on the top of Stiles’ forehead.  

“You’re our new pack, they’re making you smell like them.  Because it’s just not family unless you’ve got Jackson’s bad cologne, Lydia’s perfume, Scott’s deodorant, Allison’s body wash, my scent, and about 12 kids various orders covering your body.  Once you’ve got all that, then you’re good enough for everyone,” Derek answered.  There was a slight pause as he pulled Stiles even closer, nuzzling the top of his head.  “You’re important to us because we’re family now.  That’s why we care, and why you’re our latest cuddle buddy,” he explained.

Stilles couldn’t help but smile.  He raised up, kissing Derek on the cheek.  

“I think I can handle that,” Stiles answered.  Stiles then proceeded to grope Derek's ass.  "Think I can handle these too!" he said deviously.

+

“Are they STILL making out?” Jackson whined, still sitting by a tree with the rest of their group. The Agents had already snagged the kids and taken them on a hike, choosing not to wait on Derek to join them.

After Liam exited the tent, and after about ten minutes, it was obvious that Derek and Stiles were doing a little more than scenting, but not obnoxious enough to actually be having sex.  DEFINITE make out session, that was certain.

Allison giggled, having long since hovered over Scott’s lap and used him as a makeshift sofa.  “Oh hush, it’s CUTE!  When have you ever seen Derek as anything but Mr. Gloomy?  Then there’s STILES!  Oh my God, it’s like the kicked little puppy has a little life back in him!” she exclaimed.

“Then they should be breaking the curse.  Seriously, this is bullshit, it’s so OBVIOUS that they love each other!  Why isn’t the curse broken?!” Jackson growled.  

Ethan whined through his nose.  “There’s more to love than just meeting and kissing.  Given that Derek’s still in mating, his heart isn’t 100% in it.  Or Stiles might still have issues in the back of his head.  Who knows who’s the holdback?  It’ll figure itself out.  We’ve got plenty of time,” he said.

“Seriously doubt it’s Derek.  Derek’s incredibly happy, like super crazy crack cocaine happy!  He’s actually singing in the shower every morning, and like..  Holy fuck has mating mellowed him the hell out.  Derek is like a whole new person,” Scott replied, sticking his head on top of Allison’s shoulder.     

“Like there’s something there that wasn’t there before,” Lydia said, stretching out into the air, satisfied.  

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

The days living in Beacon Hills added together for Stiles, and really, he wasn’t sure how he’d lost the time. Though all of it was about the best months of Stiles' entire life. All the good and all the bad.

He was pretty sure that October just sort of vanished after the camping trip, which was spent as a horde of making out, hiking, making out, cooking on an open fire, making out, and scary ghost stories. Oh, and just a little bit of making out. They weren’t obnoxious about it at all and Scott totally did not throw up.

For Halloween, Stiles had been Derek’s date to Lydia’s costume party. They’d gone as a Criminal Minds theme, with Stiles as Dr. Reed, and Derek as Agent Hotchner. Which ultimately backfired as everyone thought Stiles was Doctor Who, with Derek as Tony Stark. Still, the entire evening was enjoyable, as soon as Jackson spiked the punch with a werewolf herb that doubled as alcohol. Drunk Scott (especially Drunk Scott dressed up in a toga) was the best thing ever, though Stiles was sworn to NEVER repeat what happened that night. He and Derek shared a bed together for the first time since the puppy pile while staying over at Jackson's house, and even without sex, it was the warmest night's sleep for both of them in a very long time.

Early November made for a very interesting sports season. Beacon Hills, surprisingly enough, had a very active lacrosse team. Stiles went to every game, even the away ones, on the tour bus and snagged a helpful job as the team's statistics keeper while he waited for Tennis Season to start. It was hilarious watching the wolves FORCEFULLY holding back when they played their opponents. Derek, Scott and Jackson could have utterly destroyed their opposition, but instead took joy in toying with their opponents. Letting the opposite tea get slight leads, and then SLAMMING the ever loving fuck out of the when they brought scores to a tie. Thanks to the curse, unfortunately, the Beacon Hills lacrosse team (like any sports team in the school) could never actually win games or place in their district’s rankings. Because outside tournaments, state championships, or national championships might take the team out of town for longer than would be safe. Oh, and there was naturally the whole ethical dilemma of being super-powerful beings against ordinary humans, but who really cared about that?

Around the middle of November was Stiles and Derek's first big fight. Which was, unsurprisingly, about a growing number of letters that Stiles had been getting from Vincent. Postcards, love letters, e-mails, texts, and just about every form of communication known to man. Derek wanted to call Vincent and CALMLY (he stressed that word) ask him to stop, or at least for Stiles to ask his father to get involved, because it was bordering on stalkerish. To which Stiles refused, claiming Vincent was almost harmless and just a little batty. Derek wasn't as convinced, and said as much. In the end, the two had a great deal of tension for a few days without tlaking, until Derek broke down and let it go, on the condition that Stiles agreed to ask Derek for help if it got too "weird". Stiles shook Derek's hand on that one. He also ravished Derek's lips on that one, thanking him for not being an overprotective asshole.

Thanksgiving was remarkable. Somehow, Melissa had managed to finally win John over and combine their family celebrations into one. Then again, it was hard to keep the two families apart, considering that Stiles and Derek were on their second month of dating and/or werewolf mating. A topic that was brought up after a huge dinner of three turkeys (that were DEVOURED by Melissa, Derek, and Scott) and enough stuffing to feed all of North America.

Apparently, mating came in three distinct phases. The first phase being scenting and expression of interest (a phase Stiles was VERY familiar with by this point), followed by the bonding bite after sexual intercourse, and finished with the bonding of souls through marriage

Mr. Stilinski was not fond of the second phase, and Stiles nearly choked on his apple pie when Melissa brought it up.  
Even with Derek’s assurance that they would go at Stiles’ pace, it was a tad much to sink in all at once. Which made for a very tense evening trying to watch football, ending amusingly enough with John nearly wringing Derek's neck when he complained about one of the team's "tight end".

Not that the thought of having sex hadn't crossed either of the mates' minds.  
Which is exactly why, during the first week of December, Stiles had forced Allison and Lydia into the local cafe. Stiles ordered them all tea, considering that the place didn’t have coffee (the one horrific downside of living in Beacon Hills, canine poisons be forever damned).

In Derek’s jacket, Stiles shivered as the snow blown wind came inside the cafe, with Allison and Lydia walking inside in thin blouses, as if the 17 degree temperature was nothing.

“F..F...Freaking wolves,” Stiles bemoaned, shivering wildly. The owner saw no need in turning up the heat, so Stiles pulled Allison right next to him, huddling to his personal heater for warmth. "Ahhh.. I lied, I love wolves," Stiles said, as the cold vanished from his body, replaced with happy wolf hugs.

“Cold?” Allison asked, side-hugging Stiles and letting there be zero space between them. Thankfully, Stiles was pack by that point, so Scott wouldn’t murder Stiles in his sleep for hugging another pack member’s mate.

Stiles nodded. “YES, and nobody in this freaking down has any idea of what a HEATER is! You know, it’s that thing that makes rooms WARM!” he spat.

Laughing, Lydia shook her head. “Then you’re going to hate summer too, because our town HATES heat, and we set the air conditioning to 50 just about everywhere,” she answered.

“Oh my GOD,” Stiles groaned, grabbing his cup of tea and sipping it for warmth. He leaned back into Allison, huffing.  “Meanwhile, the weather is not what I wanted to talk to you guys about,” he said quietly.

Lydia took her own cup of tea, adding a modest amount of sugar. “So what’s going on? I can smell anxiety on you, and can pretty much tell it has to be about Derek, the way your heart is thumping. Please tell me he didn’t so something stupid. More importantly though, don't tell me you've done something stupid, because I'm physically here and CAN harm you in person,” she moaned quietly. Her eyes were slanted, clearly in her own “I shall kill thee” glare.

“No, nothing bad,” Stiles said, clearing his throat. “It’s just I uh… I think we’re coming to the point in our relationship where… I uh.. well it’s getting harder and harder for me to hold back what I want, and… I don’t want to anymore, but I kind of have to, because of things and things being bullshit,” he explained, without really saying anything at all.

There was a quiet moment of silence between the three as Lydia and Allison took a moment to decode Stilinski-ese.

“Oh, sex? You’re wanting to have sex with Derek?” Allison asked blandly, being the best Stilinki-ese decoder other than Derek.

“Yeah, that,” Stiles mumbled, sipping his tea quietly, as if to discourage conversation. His face was very flushed.

Lydia chuckled. “Stiles, for the record, while you have sex with a werewolf, there isn’t any surprises waiting. Derek can remain human during his more.. Carnal desires. The only way there’s going to be any “doggie parts” is if Derek shifts. Which, while enjoyable between two wolves in full shift, would probably border on beastiality for you,” she assured Stiles with a rare serious smile.

“It’s not that… I already asked Scott about… That,” Stiles mumbled quietly under his breath.

Humming, Allison thought for a moment. “Is it his size? Because if he’s anything like Scott, he’s going to be huge, like seriously Scott is like-”

Stiles covered her mouth. “I’ve SEEN Derek, but I don’t really want to know about Scott, sorry. Size isn’t an issue either,” he said, grumbling angrily.

“Then what’s the problem? Just spit it out,” Lydia said.

Glancing around, Stiles made sure that the rest of the cafe participants had their ears down.

In the past few months, Stiles had learned plenty about werewolf body language and werewolves in general. When their ears were piqued, they can hear anything within a fixed range, even shorter if they were indoors where sound was trapped. When down, they were more focused on the immediate conversation before them, and were just like any ordinary human. It was the only real way that they could speak without having a million voices screaming all at once in their ears.

“It’s… Well, you know… About… Me,” Stiles whispered.

“What about you?” Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow. “What, are you worried about your dick being too small or some-”

Then, it hit both Lydia and Allison like a freight train. Their eyes blew out, in a mixture of embarrassment and fear.

“Oh. It’s because of…” Allison said, covering her mouth.

Stiles nodded, glancing down at his reflection in his tea. “Derek accepts me as a male. I’ve accepted myself as a male. But the fact of the matter is… I don’t have male parts that he’s going to find attractive. They're plastic and not attached to my body. I'm not going to have a dick until after I'm done with my transitioning, so yeah, there's that," he groaned, slamming his head down on the table ans huffing. "Derek’s gay, not bi. When he sees my… My vagina, he’s going to…” he said, biting the bottom of his lip. “He’s not going to be able to… Look at me the same way again, and frankly I'm not ready for that heartache, which is why I'm such a douchenozzle and blueballing the both of us to death,” he said bluntly.

Allison hugged Stiles tighter, patting him on the back.

“Stiles…” Lydia muttered, putting her hand atop his. “Have you talked to Derek about this? Talking to us isn’t going to do any good. This is something that you and your mate have to come to terms with. Especially relationships with... Unique problems,” she answered, in an attempt to be as polite as possible.

Allison nodded. “Yeah, I’m with Lyd. I doubt Derek would mind, but if it worries you, then talk about it! Given that he already knows about your past, I’m sure he would have voiced concerns if he thought it was a problem,” she assured stiles.

Huffing, Stiles shook his head. “That’s just the thing though… Neither of us really talk about the past, and that's something else that REALLY bothers me,” he answered.

Lydia and Allison exchanged nervous glances.

“I mean, I GET why I don’t want to talk about the past, and I WANT to talk about the past, but then I also DON'T because it was such a shitty time, and now's not such a shitty time, but... but with Derek, it’s like… It’s like anytime I ask him about his family, he clams up and changes the subject. He doesn't even SAY he doesn't want to talk about it, he tries to make it sound like it never happened in the first place! At least TELL me that you don't want to talk about it, and I'd be fine! Was Ms. McCall’s divorce really that bad?” Stiles asked.

Lydia shook her head. “That’s something we can’t answer. While I know that Melissa wouldn’t mind, it’s Derek’s business. I-”

“Derek’s father is Peter Hale, the ancestor of the town’s Hales that got everyone cursed. He left Melissa after a few years of fighting over the Hale name and because they weren't actually mates,” Allison answered, talking over Lydia.

Lydia’s eyes could burn through pure diamond as she glared incredulously at Allison.

“What?! Like you said, it’s Melissa’s business! We can at least tell him the facts, and the facts is what I told him! This isn't some bullshit romance novel where I have to hide crap for twenty chapters just to build filler tension! I'm a strong independent female protagonist of my own story who don't need no author!” Allison exclaimed, snapping her fingers in Lydia's face.

Stiles exchanged odd glances between the two women as sparks flew. “Wait… Derek’s a Hale?” he exclaimed, diffusing the situation quite quickly.

Allison, ignoring Lydia’s incredulous glance, nodded in Stiles’ direction. “Yes. Scott and Derek are both the bloodline of Lord Hale. Peter Hale, their father, is the last living member of that original family. Well, I suppose Laura, Malia, and Cora are too, but…” she explained, catching as Stiles got mildly confused. “Oh, Laura, Malia, and Cora are Peter’s daughters from his second marriage. They’re Derek’s half-sisters,” she answered.

“Derek has sisters?!” Stiles shouted, clearly dumbfounded. That knowledge wasn’t something one kept from their boyfriend for three months. At least, without a good reason.

Lydia sighed, giving in to keeping the secret herself. “Derek and Peter don’t get along very well. Mostly because of Peter leaving his mother, but also because Peter married within a month of the divorce, and had his wife expecting within another month. Peter found his true mate, considering Melissa was not his real mate when they got married the first time around. Melissa wished him well, but Derek… Derek was betrayed. Peter never visited after the divorce, back when Scott was real little, and spent a good year and a half before he even remember he had an "old family". But by then it was too late. Derek felt betrayed by a father who he thought loved him, and… Well, he became a different person,” she explained.

"Derek doesn't acknowledge his sisters or his step-mother, Talia, and hasn't gone to see them since Laura, the oldest sister, was born. He doesn't even talk to them, even if the girls come up and BEG him to come visit. It's so sad," Allison added, frowning as she sipped her decaffeinated tea.

“Oh,” Stiles answered, realizing several things finally made sense. No wonder Derek didn't want to even bring them up.

Frustratingly, Lydia rubbed her forehead. "Not to mention there was some big blow up that he won't even tell US. Frankly, I know its killing Derek on the inside. He says he hates his father, and believe you me, I'd be pissed off if my father pulled what Peter pulled, but... Derek loved him at some point, and it's hard to let something like that just vanish from your life completely," she sighed.

"Scott told me that Peter was and is a good man. It was just the wolf and finding his mate that made him go a little crazy, and why the marriage with Melissa failed. Peter WANTS to be in Derek's life, and wants to apologize for the instinct taking over. Again, the curse and what it turned us into tore apart a perfectly good family," Allison said, leaning her head on Stiles'.

Stiles gripped his cup tighter. The fucking CURSE. It ruined everything for everyone.

He and Derek were going to break that thing, once and for fucking ALL.

=

Derek tried not to make eye contact with Mr. Stilinksi. Even though Derek knew he could logically shred the man to pieces, and overpower him within seconds, there was something about him being Stiles' father that broke that logic.

John Stilinksi was NOT like Claudia, and Derek could pretty much tell why. Whereas Claudia was the guardian to Stiles' heart, letting him follow it and be who he really is, John was the guardian to Stiles' body. There was no way that he was going to let anyone touch his son without his son's express consent.

Which was why John had forced Derek to come visit him at the Police Station. In the Sheriff's office, a neatly organized room with old wooden furniture, and several intimidating guns laid out on the Sheriff's side (which he, naturally, was polishing),

Derek was fidgeting in the seat across from John, trying to focus on the water Deputy Argent had brought him.

"Thanks for coming. I had a few things I wanted to get out in the open, given that my son seems to be pretty sure you're the greatest guy in the world," John said, in a deep voice that commanded respect.

"Yes sir," Derek responded.

Nodding, John picked up one of MANY bullets on the table, examining it. "Stiles means the world to Claudia and I. He's everything we ever wanted in a child, and then some. I'm proud of him and everything he does. He's got a strength of character that just doesn't normally exist in this world anymore," he explained. He put down the bullet, instead choosing to to grab a gun on his table.

Derek remained silent, nodding along with John's comments.

"He means a lot to us. More than you could probably understand. Which is why I'm going to tell you something about Stiles, something I'm sure he wouldn't mind you knowing," he said, waiting for a few moments as he gathered his thoughts. "Stiles...

Stiles isn't our biological son. Stiles is actually my nephew," John spat out, as he let the gun drop to the table with a gentle thud.

Derek's eyes widened.

John sighed. "When Stiles was... About four, he made it very clear to his real mother and father that he did not want to be a girl. He even went so far as to nearly cut off his feminine region with a pair of scissors at that same age, had my wife not caught him. So charmingly, he explained that he was "making himself not a girl anymore", not realizing how painful that process would have been," he explained shaking his head. His eyes flickered to a picture of Stiles just a few years earlier, out on a hunting trip with him, where they'd bagged a buck.

"After that happened my sister, his biological mother, went into a meltdown and had to be committed for a few months. His biological father just kept yelling at him to "be normal", and nearly shook him so hard that he hurt the boy, giving him a near whiplash. So without going too deep into the crazy of it all, she and her husband relinquished her parental rights and Claudia and I adopted Stiles. Which we were happy to do, considering my wife... My wife can't have children of her own," John explained, shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry," Derek added, trying hard not to picture what that must have been like. He'd lost his father, sure, but Stiles had lost both of his parents. Even if he gained amazing people like the Stilinskis, it still was a loss that he probably remembered. Vividly.

John sighed. "It hurt him. A lot. Which is why it took three years for Stiles to be his normal self again. He was 7 by the time he was an ordinary kid, but.. Wasn't. As a transgender child, he had his own battles to fight, and dealt with ignorance on a daily basis. But he was HAPPY being who he was, and we could handle that. But then... Vincent happened," he said.

Suppressing a growl, Derek attempted to maintain a composed demeanor.

And boy did he fucking fail at that.

"I lost my son again, and nearly lost him for good. He could have died from his injuries, but seeing him look so lifeless in our home? That was worse than anything a trip to the hospital could call for. Wounds heal. A soul takes more," John said, allowing himself a small reprieve to small. "Thankfully, this town and your friends let my son's soul come back, and for that, I'm forever grateful," he explained.

Derek smiled too. Aside from a small spat over Stiles' ex, he really was a bright soul that Derek wanted to be around constantly. Everyone in the town couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope in him, and Stiles amplified that glimmer into a full blown spotlight.

"Derek, I think you're a fine young man. Stiles thinks the world of you, and so does my wife. But to be frank, this whole town of beasts, and the thought of my son in a relationship with you scares me to death. My son's been in the dark too much in his life. He's seen and experienced so much heartbreak in his short life that I can't stand to let him go through more of it," John said, clenching his fist. He paused for a moment, wiping away a few stray tears. "So... If you're serious about Stiles. If you're REALLY serious about Stiles, then... You've got to promise me something," he explained, pausing for Derek's response.

Confidently, Derek nodded. "Anything. I love Stiles, and I want him to be a part of my life as long as I live," he said, in absolute certainty. He'd been cautious at first with Stiles, scared to death about what life with Stiles might mean. Though all of that was thrown out the window as he got closer and closer. As selfish as it was, he couldn't live without him anymore. Stiles was his mate, and the likelihood of separating them was about as likely as breaking up Scott and Allison.

Standing up, John towered intimidatingly over the seated Derek. "You promise me that... That if you do end up breaking it off with Stiles, for whatever reason, that you tell it to his face. You come up to him, tell him why it's over, and you fucking talk it out like a man. No texting, no Facebook, no Skype, and DEFINITELY not through the grapevine.   And if you do break up with him like that, don't try and kill him when he tries to get an answer.  Stiles doesn't deserve to find out that someone he loved is leaving him from someone else, and not even know WHY. Not again, not EVER," he spat.

Based on the way John's face was twitching, something clicked in Derek's head.

"Not again," John's voiced echoed in Derek's mind. As in, something like that had happened before.

Derek felt his claws snap out. "Vincent?" he asked bluntly, growling under his breath.

"Vincent," John answered, as if to answer Derek's unspoken question.

"I'll kill him. I swear to God, if I ever meet this son of a bitch, and if Stiles doesn't get to him first, I'm going to kill him," Derek barked, crushing the plastic cup of water into nothing.

"Get in line, but you can help," John said, plopping his rear back down on the table.

As if in a rare moment of bonding, John handed Derek a gun to assist in polishing.

Taking the gun, Derek can't help but look at John's face and cringe as Stiles' father was recalling all the bad memories of his past. He had that same pained, fearful face that Derek had seen once before.

The face of Peter after Derek disowned him as his father.

-

Lydia's homework was spread out all over Jackson's desk, and Jackson's homework was in his backpack, not even remotely touched. Not that they were really doing all that much studying. Both buck bare as the day they were born, with the covers draped over each other in case someone came barging through, Lydia used Jackson's chest as a firm pillow, kissing his chest as they both came down from their sexual high.

In return, Jackson gently stroked Lydia's head, playing with her hair and pressing chaste kisses against her temple.

The general topic of post-coitous conversation, naturally, was Derek, Stiles, and the curse.

"So... Stiles is scared about his organs, and therefore is holding back from letting Derek love him 100%, because he's scared of how Derek's going to react to sex" Jackson asked.  
  
"Yep," Lydia answered quietly, shifting under the sheets to let her feet gently caress Jackson's ankles.

Jackson sighed. "And Derek's Derek, so Daddy issues galore is keeping him from being 100% devoted to Stiles, since he's got a fractured heart" he asked.

"Correct," Lydia said, thankful that Allison had brought that to her attention. She didn't even realize it.

"And until they get their pasts behind them, they're no way they're going to break the curse is what you're saying?" Jackson said, whining loudly enough to raise the dead.

Lydia nodded. "A theory. I'm just guessing that true love is hard when you have a hell of a lot of baggage hanging on your shoulders. I'm not saying it CAN'T happen, I'm saying it's harder to happen," she offered.

Hugging his mate tighter, Jackson shook his head. "This is bullshit. How do we fix this?" he asked.

For once in her life, Lydia remained silent.


	16. Chapter 16

Stiles was mildly disappointed with the shopping Beacon Hills provided, and was nearly to the point where he was going to grab his Jeep and go off on a serial shopping spree with Lydia and Scott.

Though everyone was less than thrilled at the concept of driving out of the town, and Stiles didn't press the issue.

Still, with Christmas only a few weeks away, there was NO way in hell he'd be able to get it all done without online shopping or Santa getting his fat ass created into existence.  

He definitely wanted to get his mom a new espresso machine, the old one had gotten lost in the move, and he could probably find a used one in his budget range.  Because the lack of coffee shops in Beacon Hills (Fucking wolf diets), both he and his mother were in massive fancy coffee drink withdrawals.  

Dad would be getting the same gift he got every year, a refurbished gun to add to his antique collection.  Stiles had already finished disassembling, repairing, oiling, and fixing the obvious flaws in his latest project, a pistol back from the 1920 San Francisco police force.  He'd finish up as he put the puzzle pieces of the gun back together, which would be just one all-nighter away.

His new friends though?  

Well, that was going to be a struggle.  

Lydia would definitely be getting some sort of original dress or fashion item that she couldn't get anywhere else.  Beacon Hills definitely didn't have that, but he knew a few people back home who could mail him something from the local boutique he used to shop for his mom at.  Kira, the last remaining contact he had from Lilyvale who hadn't been a dick to him, was a good friend who'd do that for him, no problem.

Jackson was easy.  He had an obsession with music, so iTunes gift card would be the easiest, but considering that working an iPhone as a wolf was near-impossible, Stiles was instead attempting to find headphones and a holding band that could fit in dog ears, could be converted into human fit ears, AND keep up if he was out on a run as a wolf.  Which was NOT easy.  Stiles had experimented on Ethan, but pretty much every brand was too big or too small to fit in wolf ears, so he'd definitely half to get a little crafty on that as well.  The band was easy though, a simple stitch job on a dog collar with reinforced fabric.  Ethan had gone on a vicious run, and not dropped Stiles' iPhone once after a five mile run back and forth.

Because of his assistance with Jackson's gift testing, and because he was the best friend and guard dog Stiles had ever had, Ethan was getting the biggest dog bed Stiles could find, so he could have his own place in the Stilinski home.  Claudia was assisting, converting the guest room into a room just for Ethan to stay in when the others were away.  

Without a doubt, Scott and Allison would be getting cutest matching hoodies, because that's simply adorable.  Normally, he would have thought of something more special, but this was a special request from Allison.  A VERY special request that Stiles had been sworn to secrecy about.

Thankfully, this simple purchase could be done at the local mall, which Stiles had dragged Derek to.

Not only because of holy-shit-boyfriend-bonding-time, but also because of everyone Stiles KNEW what to get, Derek was the one and only that he didn't.  Books were the obvious choice based on conversations with Scott and Derek's meager collection, but ultimately impersonal without the right kind of foreknowledge.  

He HAD to get Derek something special.  Hell, ALL of his friends had to get something special.

Because of everything they'd all given him, he wanted, even in a small way, to give something equally special back.

Though it was hard to adequately find a gift equivalent to a life.  Because that was what they'd given Stiles back.

Gripping Derek's hand tightly, the two stepped out of the elevator on the bottom floor, while swinging an Abercrombie bag in his hand.

"Pink.  Of all the colors, you got Scott PINK?  The last time he wore pink, he was in middle school, and it landed him Allison as a mate because of it," Derek asked, with a smug grin.

"Yeeeeep!" Stiles announced proudly, as they made their way into the food court.  "Allison's orders, I've got to follow them to the T.  This is VERY important," he said mysteriously.

Derek groaned.  "Oh this cannot be good.  You are TOO sneaky!" he announced, pressing a gentle kiss into the top of Stiles' hand.  His smile was bright, blinding.

Laughing, the two got in line for the local burger joint, while Stiles rested his head on Derek's shoulder.

"So...  What are you getting everyone for Christmas?" Stiles asked curiously.

Derek shrugged.  "Gift cards.  I don't know what to get them," he answered.

"BOOOO," Stiles said, shaking his head in shame.  "Dude, you have known these people since you were little.  How do you NOT know what to get them?" he asked.

"I just...  I'm not the kind of person who's good at things like this.  I'd rather them get something they actually like, rather than me fucking it up and wasting money," Derek said, stepping forward as the line got shorter.  

Stiles hummed.  "I get that, but seriously, gifts from the heart mean a hell of a lot more," he said, rather dramatically, holding his chest tightly.

"Then you'll love your gift," Derek said, with a smug grin.

Gasping, Stiles playfully punched the side of Derek's shoulder.  "Shut UP, what'd you get me?!" he demanded to know.  

Putting a finger to his lips, Derek shushed Stiles.  "That's a secret you're just going to have to wait and find out until Christmas," he said quietly.

The two fought and bickered as they ordered their meal, grabbing their trays and moving to one of the few empty tables off in the far corner.  Stiles plopped his bags in the floor beside him, and unwrapped his double cheeseburger.  

Derek smirked.  "Thought you didn't eat greasy shit," he said, surprised at how Stiles had changed over the months.  He'd gained a little weight, turning him from a skeleton underweight and into a healthy glowing figure.

Stiles shrugged.  "Meh, I'm sick of not eating what I want to eat.  If I start getting too fatty with my T shots, I'll up my exercise to balance it out," he explained.  In that respect, Stiles mushed the burger into his mouth, biting of the well-cooked goodness.  For whatever reason, werewolves were EXCELLENT cooks, and even greasy shit tasted amazing.

"That's smart," Derek said, unwrapping one of his own double cheeseburgers and doing much of the same.  

They ate in silence for a few minutes together, until Stiles had halfway finished his meal.  His leg was thumping up and down anxiously.

"You okay?" Derek asked, sensing the anxiety and uptick in blood pressure

Stiles took a very deep breath.

"So um...  Derek, can we talk about us?  That's sort of why I brought you out here to go shopping with me.  And by us, I mean...  Like us physically.  Like...  Sex," Stiles said.  

Derek nodded, and Stiles was very aware of the smile his boyfriend was trying to hide.  "Is that something you're... Ready for?  I don't want you to be uncomfortable," he asked.

"Yeah, like...  Way back during the camping trip, I WANTED it, but...  I had to get my head wrapped around a few things, and...  I need to get you involved as well on a few...  Differences," Stiles said, pausing to gather his thoughts.  

Putting down his meal, Derek eyed Stiles cautiously.  "Stiles, your heart is beating a million miles a minute.  Calm down!  What's going on?" he asked, putting his hand atop Stiles' and watching him nervously.  "Stiles, if you don't want this, we can wait.  There's no reason why I-"

"Derek, I don't have a dick," Stiles spat out.

Derek choked on his words, finding it difficult to really counter such a conversation.  In a rare moment, Derek was motionless and speechless.

Stiles cleared his throat.  "I uh...  I have a special prosthetic packer to create the illusion of a bulge in social situations and it's a brand that I can use for sex.  But it's plastic and is strapped around my waist and...  My vagina.  My very non-male vagina," he said, menacing the table as he tried not to make eye contact.

"Oh...  Oh, I uh...  I hadn't thought about that," Derek said quietly.  He shook his head.  "I uh...  I didn't want to ask how far you were in your transition.  That's something inherently private, something I wasn't comfortable discussing without you bringing it up first," he said, clearing his throat.  

Stiles smiled quietly.  "Thank you.  It...  It is," he answered, sighing heavily.  "I'm lucky.  I really am, I have very LITTLE body dysphoria in my life, all things considered.  I had enough support from my mom and dad so that wasn't an issue, and was on hormone blockers as young as was safe, so...  I'm lucky," he said, gulping loudly as he took a long drink of his soda.  He paused for a few moments.  "But...  There are some things I can't escape.  Parts of me that aren't biologically male...  Yet," he whispered.

Remaining quiet, Derek didn't take his hands off of Stiles'.  

"Derek...  I will understand completely if you need some time to think.  Or if I..  I might not make a good mate anymore," Stiles said, chuckling quietly under his breath.  

"What?" Derek asked, as his face crumbled.  His stomach flipped over and his heart stopped, if only for a moment.  The warmth Stiles had been giving him for months turned into a frigid cold.  His whole body felt empty, like a hollow pit of festering pain and loneliness.

 _"Nonononono...  No, I don't want to go back to this.  I can't go back to this, NO.  No, I need you Stiles...  NO.  NO no no,"_ Derek thought, panicking at the thought of losing Stiles. 

"You think I'd..." Derek mumbled quietly, as if in disbelief.

Slowly, Stiles fiddled with Derek's hands.  "I'd just rather get this in the open ahead of time.  Because I do really care about you like crazy, but I want to be fair about this.  Because...  I don't want a repeat of the last time someone tried to get...  Close to me in that special way.  So I just wanted you to know and why are you dragging me?" he asked.

Sure enough, Derek had Stiles in in his hand, leaving everything at the food court table as he led Stiles in a frenzy.  Even without wolf senses, Stiles could feel Derek's heart beat through his thick hands.  He was on the verge of a wolfy panic attack.  Derek NEVER lost control, and by his face alone, Stiles could tell something was very long.

So Stiles let his boyfriend direct him.

Without a doubt, they were heading to the men's room.  Derek threw the door open, shooting angry glares at two teenagers that were washing their hands.

"OUT.  OUT NOW," Derek roared, baring his teeth as his eyes flashed red.  The kids took the cue, dashing out and leaving the restroom completely empty.  Derek locked the door, breathing in and out deeply.

Stiles, in the meantime, shook his head.  "Oh God...  You're breaking up with me.  Why else would you-"

And he was interrupted, with the single most smouldering kiss of his life.  Derek had Stiles up against the bathroom door, hugging his mate as tightly as he could manage.

Derek was...  Oh God, was Derek putting EVERYTHING into that kiss, and Stiles appreciated his gusto.  

Stiles felt Derek's tongue in his mouth, wrestling for dominance with Stiles'.  He lifted up from the kiss, breathing hot air over Stiles' neck.  "Don't you ever...  EVER think I don't love every fucking inch of you," he said, as relief poured out of him, able to be close with his mate and show him his love.  

====

Hearing Stiles FEAR him was the single most disgusting feeling Derek had ever had in his body.  Like slimy eels were rolling up and down his throat.  The worst feeling he'd ever had in his life.  This includes the awkward month when he had a crush on Jackson back before he was mated to Lydia.

His wolf wanted to rip into his own skin, punish himself for EVER making Stiles feel like he wasn't adequate.  A failing that some wolves had killed themselves over.  Thankfully, he had better control than that.

So instead, he just had to show Stiles how adequate he was.

"You are...  Doing a very good job of showing that so far," Stiles said, laughing quietly as the ground up against each other.  

Derek took a moment to sigh in relief, feeling his wolf chill out.  Stiles was feeling more comfortable, that was obvious.

"Let me see you.  Let me show you how I feel about that.  Let me...  Let me apologize for making you think I didn't care for you.  If...  If you'll give me that honor," Derek said.

Stiles, mildly flabbergasted, took a moment to gather his thoughts.  "You...  You're okay with this?  Like seriously okay?  Do NOT fuck with me right now, because...  This is like...  Oh fuck it, I trust you," he said, leaning in for yet another kiss, while using his free hand that wasn't around Derek's waist to pull at his jeans.  He unbuttoned his jeans, and let them drop around his ankles.  In his boxer shorts, Stiles stepped out of his jeans, while Derek pulled off his shirt.  

"Stiles...  You could have a set of tentacles for genitals and I wouldn't give a fuck.  You are MY MATE.  I love you, and that's all that matters," Derek said, peppering kisses on Stiles' neck and chest.  

Stiles felt his heart thump.  

Three little words that Derek had FINALLY said.  He'd held out hope on hearing that at some point, but the actual "I love you" had been more wonderful to hear than he expected.  Especially given the circumstances.  

With a confident smile, Stiles threw his fingertips around the waistband of his boxer shorts, and another piece of fabric underneath them.  "I love you too," he answered back, as he pulled down his undergarments.  

Derek glanced down, and wasn't all that surprised by what he saw.  He'd done his own brand of research on those who go through female to male transitions.  The last thing he ever wanted to do was do or say something that made Stiles uncomfortable.  Thankfully, the internet was a plethora of information, and blogs on couples with transgender members gave valuable information to keep him from being a douchebag.

Stiles' genitals wasn't all that different than a typical female's, with the exception that his clitorus was larger, enlarged from the testosterone he'd been taking for a few years. He saw the plastic prosthetic strap on, in the bundle with his undergarments on the floor that acted as Stiles' actual penis, which had been strapped on underneath his boxers.

Everything was, quite literally, out in the open.

Derek growled, lapping up Stiles' neck with his tongue and pressing another kiss into Stiles' mouth.  He didn't touch Stiles down below, but did pull that region closer to Derek's still clothed body.  Especially towards the groin area, like when they made out together.

To which, Stiles moaned into Derek's mouth, breaking away from the kiss out of shock from what he felt.

"You're hard," Stiles said, flushed as he felt Derek's erection through his jeans.  Holy fuck was he hard.  Just as hard as when they got hot and bothered during their make out sessions.  

Exactly the same.  He'd seen everything, and nothing had changed in the slightest.

Derek was still hot for Stiles, and the teen laughed in relief over it.

Smirking, Derek nuzzled his mate's neck, kissing every inch of his skin.  "I'm hard for Stiles.  I'm hard for my mate.  I'm hard because I love YOU, my fucking sexy boyfriend that I'm dying to eat up, and I want him to remember that," he offered in a calm voice.

With a gentle laugh, Stiles nodded.  "Yeah... Yeah, I get that, thank you for your very dramatic bathroom telling of that tale.  I definitely am putting you on the fast track to my personal top ten favorite people of all time, taking my Great Aunt Gertrude's place...  But uh...  Can our first time not be in a mall bathroom?" he asked, as Stiles regained his composure.  

"Of course.  Sorry, I just uh..." Derek said, suddenly embarrassed over the whole situation, as his blood stopped boiling out of shame.  

"Instinct.  Dude, I get it.  GRRR you wolf man GRRR mate sad.  I saw Jackson do that after Lydia's pet cat died.  He got a little psycho protective and wouldn't even let me in to bring Lydia her flowers.  That's what happened here, I'm guessing?" Stiles asked.

Derek helped Stiles get dressed, clothing him from top to bottom.  He nodded.  "Yeah.  I'm sorry, I just...  I had to...  Goddamnit, I hate my fucking wolf," he said bitterly.

Stiles shook his head.  "Hey, I'm okay with it.  You uh...  You pretty much eliminated any thoughts of me being self conscious around you.  I think I'll be okay with you seeing e naked now.  Well, mallgoers.  Though I guess that's fair, since I see you naked...  Uh, pretty much every time you shift," he said.

Smirking, Derek unlocked the bathroom door, and both of them exited the restroom, to a line of pretty pissed off mallgoers.  They pushed through them, and both were very relieved to see their trays of food (and Stiles' shopping bags) had remained untouched during their whole ordeal.

They moved back to their original positions, though with Derek leaning on Stiles, needing his touch.  His wolf had calmed down, but kept nuzzling and scenting Stiles' neck, still having that lingering knot in his stomach.

"What do you like?" Derek asked, coughing nervously.

"Huh?" Stiles asked, caught off guard by the statement, poking at his cheeseburger, which was fairly cold by this point.

Derek cleared his throat again, hiding his face in Stiles' neck, embarrassed by the conversation.  "I uh...  I want you to be comfortable through the process.  If you're not comfortable with something, then...  Tell me.  If you're not enjoying it, then I won't," he explained.  As Stiles remained his confused self, Derek sighed.  "Stiles, you told me not 15 minutes ago that you were ready to have sex.  I mean, before you being uncomfortable about me not liking you.  I'm asking you...  What you like," he explained.

"Oh!  Oh, I uh..  Sorry!" Stiles said, shaking his head.  "I'm...  I'm okay with penetration on the front and rear.  I've uh...  I've tried both with toys and stuff, and I'm okay with that," Stiles said, gulping.  Derek watched as his boyfriend looked more embarrassed than anyone had ever seen him before.  "Just uh...  If you're okay with it, then I uh...  I'd also like to top a few times.  With uh...  One of those tools that people like me use when they want to top," he mumbled quietly and quickly.

Derek held Stiles' hand tighter.  "It's called a dildo, and whatever you want Stiles.  I want our bonding bite to be special.  Special for both of us.  I want that day long event to be comfortable and enjoyable time," he said.

"Aww...  Well thats...  Wait, did you say DAY?," Stiles asked, nearly choking on his own words.

Derek nodded, as if it were the normalest thing imaginable.  "Naturally.  The bonding bite is a day long process as we explore each other's bodies and become one person both physically and spiritually," he said.  He went back to eating his cheeseburgers.  Apparently, the conversation was normal again.

"Ah.  Well, then that's...  Oh wow," Stiles said, laughing awkwardly.  Day long sex?

"Though if you want to, we can do it in one session.  Whatever makes you comfortable," Derek assured Stiles, with a brief smile.  

Stiles' forehead twitch.  "Why are you so obsessed with just ME being comfortable?  What do YOU want?! he asked.  It really was an annoying habit that Derek had.  Always with the "whatever makes you comfortable bullshit".  

Derek scowled.  "Because a relationship shouldn't be about one person's happiness.  When that happens, you become a piece of shit.  A piece of shit who's less than nothing.  A selfish loser who isn't worth the dirt he steps on," he said, in a dark voice that spoke volumes.  He shook his head.  "I'm not becoming that.  I love you Stiles, and I want to show you that, every day until I die.  I don't want anything to come between us," he explained.

It didn't take long for Stiles to know where Derek got that attitude from.

"Peter," Stiles thought to himself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea if I'm going to actually write a sex scene or not, let me know in the comments if that's something you'd like to have in the story and seen written in detail. 
> 
> It's definitely going to happen (because seriously, sex is a part of life and romance and it happens), but I'm not sure if I want it to be detailed or if it will be just vaguely mentioned in the background. 
> 
> Though if you want it, it's going to be coming soon!


	17. Chapter 17

Derek rolled the thin silver band in between his fingertips, sprawled out on his bed, looking for any and all flaws in the ring.  Three spiral designs had been melted out of it and leaving holes in the ring, all connected to one and other.  Light peaked through it, and Derek could see the other spirals through the hole.  They were all connected and could be seen when glanced through.  

Sighing, Derek stared across his bedroom, meeting Lydia's gaze.  She'd been standing there for the better part of an hour, listening to his big Christmas surprise for Stiles, hoping she could assist with it.  Though all he'd been able to get out was that he'd made Stiles a ring.  The rest?  He still couldn't find the words to say it all.

"How long did it take you to make it?" Lydia asked, resting her hand on Derek's shoulder as she plopped down next to him.

Derek shut his eyes.  He recalled the whole irritating month-long process, reading it out of the book from the Hale House.  He'd ruined three whole silver bands, trying to get the spirals just right and not leave any burn marks.  As much as he hated it, he'd had to use the bank account his father gave him to buy the silver bands.  Still, Stiles was worth eating his pride.  

"A month.  It had to be perfect," Derek said.  

Plopping down on the bed next to Derek, Lydia took the ring from him, examining it.  

"What does the ring mean?  Are you asking him for marriage?" Lydia asked casually.

Derek immediately shook his head.  "No.  All I want is...  Like pre-engagement?  A promise.  Yeah, that sounds right.  It's a promise," he explained.  

Lydia hummed, deep in thought.  "So...  A pre-engagement ring, essentially is what we've got here.  Why not a regular engagement ring?  There are thirteen year olds who get married around here, it's not that big of a deal," she said, cocking her head curiously.

Sighing, Derek rubbed his forehead.  "Stiles isn't from here.  He's used to conventional engagements, where people aren't' married by 18.  I don't want to freak him out.  Hell, I'm not even calling it a pre-engagement.  Just..  Just something that shows my commitment.  Like I said, it's a promise.  A promise I'll always be there for him, for better or for worse," he said exasperatedly.

Lydia smiled, handing the ring back to Derek.  "He'll love it," she explained.

"I hope," Derek said, as his chest dropped down.  He was distracted, unusually so, shaking his head and growling under his breath.  

"What?" Lydia asked, rubbing Derek's shoulder.

Huffing, Derek shook his head angrily.  "Stiles is a bastard.  He called my father and arranged for the three of us to have dinner together.  Tonight," he groaned.

Lydia fell backwards on the bed, her head right next to Derek's.  She was laughing vividly, patting Derek on the shoulder.  "Oh my God...  Didn't you break Scott's jaw the last time he tried shit like that?!  What did you tell Stiles?" she asked.

Derek groaned, banging his head against his mattress.  "He's my mate, and he's emotionally invested in this, so I can't tell him no.  If I did, I'd feel his pain pretty easily.  You know how it is," he explained.

"Yep," Lydia said, shaking her head.  "I'm pretty sure that's also the only thing keeping Danny from going off the deep end.  Since they met Stiles, I've seen Isaac dragging him out of the house more and more often.  Cute little dates, I'm sure Isaac's putting emotional investment to get him out.  It's sweet,"she said, patting Derek on the hand.  

"Not the same.  I know he knows, no thanks to you and Allison," Derek said, shooting Lydia a dark glare.

She put up her hands.  "Hey, YOU try telling Stiles NO," Lydia spat, rolling her eyes.

Derek just shrugged.  "Oh well.  It's one night.  I can swallow my pride for a night and be...  Tolerable," he muttered under his breath.

"Though this does beg an important question," Lydia said, watching in awe as Derek hopped off his bed, sealing the ring back into the soft black box he'd pulled it out of earlier.

"What?" Derek asked.

"Can I pay to see this dinner?" Lydia asked with a bright smile.

-

La Noir was the nicest restaurant in town.  Actually, it was about a full mile outside of Beacon Hills, and was technically inside the city limits of their nearby neighbor, Kevron Hills.  Though Stiles hoped it was more like splitting hairs to Peter and Derek.

The classic comfort-styled restaurant thankfully had a private room for parties away from the rest of the populace that Stiles had rented out with Peter's card, so that any and all potential brawls between the two fully grown werewolves might not result in odd looks.  

Or maybe if they got into screaming matches, they wouldn't get kicked out right away.

Which, based on how the dinner was going, wasn't too far away.

They'd just finished giving their orders, and the death stares from Derek began.  

Stiles glanced over to Peter Hale, Derek's father.  Peter was handsome, a rugged kind of style that screamed DILF.  Dressed semi-formally in a sports coat and jeans, like Derek and Stiles, Peter gently picked up his glass of water, fiddling with it awkwardly.

"So...  It's nice to see you Derek.  It's been what...  Three years?" Peter asked, clearly crushed by that realization.

"Not long enough if you ask me," Derek said, picking up his own glass of water and gulping down half of it.

Stiles cringed.  Apparently the gloves weren't even remotely on.  

Peter cleared his throat.  "Well, I uh..  I'm sorry about that," he admitted.

"No you're not," Derek spat.

Standing up, Peter took off his coat, laying it across his chair.  "I am.  I'm sorry Derek for everything I ever-

"You LEFT US!" Derek shouted, raising up to his father, a full half foot taller.  His eyes were blazing.

Stiles held his hands up, genuinely worried that Derek was about to beat the shit out of his father.

Unfortunately, Derek pushed past Stiles and got right in Peter's face.  "You think saying SORRY will make up for that?  Make up for what you did to my MOM?  Make up for you FORGETTING about me?!" he screeched.

His rage-filled voice cracked Peter's glass of water.

"Welp, I can add this to a list of bad decisions," Stiles thought to himself, praying Derek didn't do anything stupid.

Peter dropped his head.  "Derek, I cannot make up for what I did.  I can blame my instincts all I want, but in the end, I was the one who made the decisions.  If you want to hit me, claw me, or bite me, I'm not going to stop you.  I deserve it," he said.

Stiles could have dropped his jaw.  Peter had the single CALMEST reaction he'd ever seen in his life.  He had a full grown muscular werewolf of death standing before him, and he was just...  Acting like it was a typical conversation.  

Derek was just as shocked, stepping backward and giving Peter some breathing room.

Shaking his head, Peter sighed.  "I failed you both as a father while you were young, and I won't ever be able to take those memories back from you.  What's done is done, I'm not going to bother looking back in the past.  I admit my failings," he said, standing up and moving to Derek, putting his arms around his son and pulling him in for a tight bear hug.  "I want to have my sons back.  BOTH of my sons.  I want us to be a family again.  All of us, including your mother and your stepmother.  I want you to know your little sisters, who want to know their big  brother that Scott brags about all the time. I'm not going to give up on you, Derek.  I did that once, and I'm NEVER doing that again.  I love you Derek," he said, in a calmed voice that was on the thin veneer of cracking into a million pieces.

Stiles smiled at the sight, only to have that joy collapse as Derek grunted.

"You think it's just that easy?" Derek said, breathing in and out tightly as he forced himself out of Peter's hug.  "Some worthless words don't make up for lost years.  You're stupid if you think I'm just going to forgive you overnight," he spat out bitterly.  He slammed back down at the dinner table, next to Stiles.  "The only reason I'm here is because my mate is kind enough to think you're worth time and energy.  I'll get through dinner because of Stiles, not you," he spat.

Like a kicked puppy, Peter's face was forlorn, lost, and genuinely crushed.  He sat down quietly, saying nothing as he sipped at his water.  He didn't make eye contact, and Stiles could tell Peter was on the verge of tears.

Derek was restlessly tapping his foot, clearly not wanting to be there.

There really was only one person who would talk.

"You know...  When I was little...  My biological father tried to contact me.  Wanted to "make amends", like Peter did tonight.  I'd always wanted a connection with my biological parents, so... I gave him a chance," Stiles said, clearing his throat.

Derek rose an eyebrow, turning to his mate.  Peter rose his head as well, barely watching Stiles' face.

Sighing, Stiles grabbed one of the rolls from the middle of the table, opening it up and spreading some thick butter on it.  "His apology was basically taking me out to a fancy restaurant and not bringing up the fact that I was a transgender kid.  My biological father talked the whole damn time about his fancy job and his new house he'd bought after divorcing my biological mom.  He called me Stephanie the whole time.  Introduced me as his daughter to the few people that came by, and laughed when I told him about my breast reduction surgery I was getting for my birthday," Stiles said, shaking his head.  "He wasn't sorry.  He just wanted to feel better about abandoning his son like the shitlord he was.  After that, I never made contact again.  My real dad was John, and my real mom was Claudia.  That's how it was, and I'm confident in that decision I made," he said, putting the buttered roll on his plate.  He took a deep breath.

"Derek, I'm not going to tell you how to feel, but what I am saying is that there's a difference in how people apologize.  There are those who just want to have forgiveness so that they feel better about their ego, like my biological father.  Then there are those who tell us how they fucked up, that they're sorry, and won't do it again.  They try to make things better, and rebuild bridges," Stiles said, chuckling.  He shook his head.  "My dad John...  He got a little tipsy at a neighborhood gathering and called me Stephie by mistake when he was talking about me as a baby.  He told his boss what a beautiful baby girl I was...  He outed me by accident and I KNEW he didn't mean to, but I...  I was devastated," Stiles said, laughing.

Derek and Peter shared a quiet glance at each other, then turned back to Stiles, who had a faraway, hurt glance.

"I didn't talk to him for a month.  By the time I let him even speak to me, I thought I was going to scream at him for hours and never forgive him," Stiles said, laughing.  He wiped away a stray tear.  "My dad bought me a gift card to an online ftm store, so I could buy a packer, some binders, and whatever else I wanted.  He spend two hours apologizing profusely, swearing that he'd never ever make that mistake again, saying that he was ridiculously proud of his son and for having a strong child.  All wrapped up by telling me he had no idea how I dealt with people like him, and that I had more balls than half of the police force," he said, laughing at the comment.  

The three were silent, as Derek turned to his mate, clutching his hand tightly.  

"There really are differences in apologies Derek. Good people know how to make a right one," Stiles said, smirking.

Stiles let go of Derek's hand, reaching into his sports coat.  

"Did you know today's Peter's wedding anniversary?" Stiles asked, smiling and pulling out a small wrapped box, pushing it to Peter.  "Nine years, right?  That's what Melissa said anyway, Happy Anniversary," he said.

Peter nodded.  "Talia and I have been married nine years to the day," he said, taking the gift and smiling.  "Thank you Stiles, we appreciate it," he said.

Stiles then turned to stare at Derek, who...  Had one very shocked glance.

_

Derek had to do a double take and think about the dates.  

December 13th.  Sure enough, that really was Peter and Talia's wedding anniversary.  He remembered, because it'd been Friday the thirteenth when it happened.  Derek had refused to be a part of it, leaving a 6 year old Scott to be one of Peter's ring bearer instead of him.

12 Years.  Each and every wedding anniversary had been bigger than the last.  Derek had heard tales of Peter's extravagance from Scott, taking Talia all over the world on each December 13th.  Paris.  Rome.  Greece.  Romania.  Places that the rest of Beacon Hills could only DREAM of going to.  The city council was constantly worried about the two leaving so far away, but Peter always managed to get them to change their mind.

Yet...  Here he was.  

On the day he should have probably been traveling halfway across the globe, he was sitting at a cheap restaurant with Derek and Stiles.

"Thanks for going out with us, I know you've probably got somewhere else to be," Stiles said, picking up the majority of the conversation.  

"Not really.  Talia and I agree that we can take a vacation any time," Peter admitted, taking a deep breath.  "There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now," he said, with a beaming smile.

Stiles patted Derek's leg under the table, outside of Peter's line of sight.

"He...  He gave up spending the evening somewhere in the world with his wife on his wedding anniversary to...  Spend time with me?" Derek thought to himself.  

Derek glared at his father, genuinely perplexed.

Clearing his throat, Derek shook his head.  "I uh...  Happy...  Happy Anniversary," he grumbled, not sure what to say.

Stiles kicked Derek under the table, shooting him a "is that all you've got SERIOUSLY?" glare of death.

Derek shot him an equally angry glare, which they both knew as "I'm socially inept, sue me!".  

Peter chuckled at the sight, recalling the way he and Talia bickered as mates when they both knew that the other was wrong.

"Talia agrees that we'd love to have you and Stiles over for Christmas with Scott and Melissa.  We're going to be going to the cabin up in the mountains, like we did when we were younger," he offered kindly.

With a large huff, Derek threw his napkin down on the table, rubbing his forehead painfully.

"Peter..  Go home to your wife," Derek spat.

Both Peter and Stiles were taken aback, mouths agape.

"We'll...  We'll talk later.  How about just you and me, without Guilty McGee over here.   You don't have to sacrifice your anniversary for me.  That's just stupid," Derek said, clearing his throat and not making eye contact as he nudged Stiles.

Peter stammered, blinking quietly to himself.

"No," Peter said, shaking his head confidently.  "I want to have dinner with my son and get to know his mate.  If you'll have me, that is," he said, with an eager smile.

Derek balled his hand into a fist.  "Fine," he spat, grabbing his menu again and scanning through the Steak section.  He huffed.  "I'm having the 19.95," he said, hiding his face behind a menu.

"Anything you want," Peter said, hiding behind his own menu.  

Stiles let out a deep sigh of relief, turning to his own menu and eyeballing the seafood section.  He EARNED his dinner that night, for sure.

-

Dinner was quiet.  Despite the small advance in their relationship, Derek and Peter still had a very long way to go.  Everything was moderately awkward, and Stiles did most of the talking.  

Still, it was better than what it was.  Though as Stiles buckled into Derek's camaro, he could feel the secondhand tension bubbling under Derek's skin.

"Do you know how awkward that was for me?" Derek asked, choking up on the words.

Stiles held his breath.  "Listen...  I didn't mean to be nosy and shit...  I just...  I'm...  I'm sorry-" he said, sighing quietly.  He pictured the way Vincent acted every fucking time Stiles tried to help him get through his fear of being "out".  Stiles just wanted Vin to be happy, but...  Vincent didn't want to change.  He wanted to live in his shadows and stagnate in unhappiness.  He was the kind of person Stiles hated to be around, in a constant state of negativity.

Vincent never wanted to even TRY to be happy, and ultimately was that reason why Stiles ended up in the hospital.

Slowly, Derek turned to his mate.  "Thank you," he whispered.  

Stiles could have fell over from shock as Derek wrapped his hand around Stiles'.

"I'm not going to make up with my father overnight.  I doubt I'll ever call him dad again either, but...  Thank you," Derek said, pressing a kiss on Stiles' hand.  "Thank you for trying, and thank you for keeping me calm.  I feel like...  I can let something get off my shoulders, and it's thanks to you.  I think...  I think I might be able to forgive.  Someday," he explained.

Quietly, Stiles was able to relax again.  He chuckled.  "You know, that story I told about my biological dad?  Totally true.  Like 100%.  It was the single worst dinner of my life, and I was scared to death tonight would have been that way," he said, lowering his head.  "I could tell about five minutes in. I could tell Peter was a good guy, someone who would have actually tried to make a relationship work.  Though if f he'd been a dick to you, I had a totally different plan involving me throwing the salad on his head and chewing him out," he said, leaning on Derek.  

"Stiles?" Derek asked, tightening his grip on Stiles' hand.  He could feel the secondhand sadness.  A feeling deep down, flooding to the surface.

Wiping away an ever so rare tear, Stiles tried to smile through it.  "I'm glad you have a chance to have a relationship like that with your father," he said, shaking his head.  "I LOVE my dad John, I love him like crazy, but...  But is it wrong to want my old parents to be just as loving?  I don't even REMEMBER them.  I was so little, John and Claudia have always been mom and dad, I never even questioned it.  But then...  As I got older, it HURT not having them in my life.  I felt like I missed out on something everyone else in the world got," he said, laughing through his tears.  "Then...  Not only did I miss out on being a GUY like every other fucking guy in the world, but then I don't even have my parents like every other kid in the world.  It's not FAIR, it sucks, and I spent YEARS hating myself and hating the world because of that," he said, in a controlled rage.

Derek shook, feeling his mate's rage.  

"But you know what?" Stiles said, biting his bottom lip.  "Fuck 'em.  Just look at me now!" he announced, throwing a fist up in the air.  "I get it now.  John and Claudia are my parents, because a real parent is what they are, blood be damned.  I'm a guy because I SAY I'm a guy, and I'm going to be a guy one of these days, both in body and in mind," he said proudly, cackling.  

Derek felt Stiles' rage fade, replaced by a confident pride.  An overwhelming, powerful confidence, like crack cocaine to his wolf.

"More importantly though..." Stiles said, nearly crushing Derek's hand as he held onto it tightly.  "I got to a town full of magic and mystery, have a fucking ADONIS for a boyfriend, have real friends, and an exciting life.  I wouldn't trade that for the goddamn world," he exclaimed, leaning over his seat and smacking a massive kiss on Derek's cheek.  "I love my life, and you guys got me to this point.  I want you to love your life as well and why the hell are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

Like an excited puppy, Derek ripped Stiles out of his seat, pulling him into his lap on the driver's side.  He hugged him tightly, growling seductively as he pressed kisses into Stiles' neck and face.  

Stiles got into the excitement as well, putting his hand around Derek's backside and groping his ass.  

They ground into each other, leaving little to no space between their bodies.

That is, until Stiles came up for air, with a cheeky smile.  "Ok...  Okay, so...  Where are we taking this, because god damn am I ready, but I'm not doing our first time in a bathroom and I'm DEFINITELY not doing this in a car.  I want my first teenage fuck somewhere respectable," he said, breathing in and out heavily.

"You sure?" Derek asked, beaming brightly as he reached his hands inside of Stiles' jeans, cupping his buttocks.

Stiles scoffed.  "No, I'm looking forward to taking ANOTHER cold shower.  Derek, if you don't fuck me tonight, I'm gonna make you regret it," he said coyly, biting down on Derek's lip.  A tip that Allison and Lydia had shared with him, saying that male werewolves LOVED biting.  

Which seemed to do the trick, because Derek had Stiles back in the passenger seat in 2 seconds, and his phone up against his ear. He buckled up himself, and brought his car to life.

"Scott, it's Derek.  Get out of the house, I don't care where you go, Stiles and I need a place.  You OWE me, so pick up mom tomorrow morning when she gets off shift and make sure she stays out of the house.  We're going to need the place all day," he growled putting his car into gear and speeding off into the road.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee, I wonder what the next chapter is going to be all about? 
> 
> Also, looks like we'll finish up this story at chapter 24, with an epilogue at chapter 25. Though I expect I'll do additional "tales" like what i Did with Thirteen Years a Stranger.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is basically awkward teenage sex. I thought about going for a more "accurate" and "safe" first time than a sexy one, because let's face it, first time sex is NOT glamourous, and they're not going to be fucking like porn stars. XD

 

The thing about wild unpredictable unplanned teenage sex?  

Well, Stiles was not fond of wild unpredictable unplanned teenage sex.  

He'd seen enough health videos, watched enough of the dark side of youtube, and heard enough horror stories from female compatriots to know that penetrative sex required prep.  Despite his deep seated hatred of his biologically female parts, there would be NO tearing of Stiles' vajayjay.  Because frankly, that was just rude, and they DID share nerve endings, so it was only polite that they prep together.

Though Derek was more than flexible when Stiles brought up the subject on the way back to the McCall residence. They stopped by at the local Walgreens and made for one hell of an awkward purchase of lubricant, condoms, scent-negative washing products, when half of the patrons were excitedly asking if they were "breaking the curse" tonight.  Without a doubt, the entire town was about to know that they were going to have sex, and would be waiting on bated breath for the coming news.  Stiles would NOT be checking facebook anytime soon, and thanked God that neither of his parents had access to it.

After bagging their purchase, Stiles barely focused on the five minute drive back to the McCall house.  Once they were out of the Camaro, Stiles and Derek were like magnets, attracting their faces together.  Stiles didn't even realize it at first, but Derek was carrying him and the bags, not breaking their heated contact, or the ridiculous tongue wrestling that was going on.

Five minutes after being pinned against the front door, and Derek finally got his key into the hole, breaking open the entrance to the house like it was nothing.  Unfortunately, they were too preoccupied to have a good stance, letting the two of them both fall to the ground in a heap of limbs.

Stiles laughed as Derek made sure he hit the ground first, leaving Stiles to straddle the topside of his waist.  To give them privacy, Derek used his foot to slam the door shut, and avoid the nosy neighbors from seeing anything.  

"Good to know I'm not the only clumsy one," Stiles said, as he ground his hips into Derek's crotch.  The heat between them was nothing short of a tanning bed.

Derek put his arms atop Stiles' shoulders.  "Stiles, if you keep doing that, I'm...  I'm-" he said, stammering at the end.

Stiles smirked, wiggling and grinding their clothed organs together, feeling Derek's erection at its massive peak, straining against his jeans.  "Doing what?   Playing with my big bad wolf?  My big bad horny wolf?  Or my big bad wolf's big bad horny dick? My MATE's dick?" he said, putting his hand atop Derek's strained cock.  

With one palming, Stiles felt Derek shudder under his weight.  

There was also a very sticky substance covering Stiles' palm en masse.

"Did you...  Derek, did you?" Stiles asked, glancing playfully at his mate.

"I'm so sorry," Derek said, clearing his throat.

"You already came?!  You seriously just jizzed your pants from just THAT?" Stiles said, mouth agape.  He glanced down, and sure enough, there was a huge wet spot in the crotch of Derek's pants.

Derek nodded, moaning as lifted them both up from the ground, grinning like a cat who got the cream.  Both literally and metaphorically.  "Told you to stop.  There's just so much..  YOU up there, and that goddamn SMELL, and you talking like that I just...  I couldn't hold it back," he said, pecking tiny kisses all over Stiles' face.  "Don't worry, my wolf is going to give us both PLENTY of stamina, it's a weird mojo thing, I read it in the human/werewolf mating book.  Not that I needed the stupid curse to make me hard all night long for you, but...  Well, there it is," he explained.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "The curse of me being unbelievably sexy," he said, laughing as he broke away from Derek.  "I uh...  I think we should both clean up.  Is there a bathroom I could use?" he asked, leaning off his boyfriend and assisting him in getting up off the floor.

"Y...Yeah," Derek said, shaking his head.   "I'll shower and clean out upstairs.  You can use the one downstairs.  We'll meet in my bedroom whenever we're done.  Sound good?" he asked, running his fingers through Stiles cheek.

With a quiet gulp, Stiles nodded, cupping Derek's hand in his own.  "Y...  Yeah, sounds great, but uh...  Maybe before that we could uh..." he said.

"Make out and grind like crazy  until I've got rug burn and my zipper is cutting into my dick?" Derek offered.

"Yes," Stiles answered instantly, jumping atop Derek and throwing them both to the floor again.  

+++++

The grinding and makeout session lasted about two hours, and they both came an embarrassing amount of times from just the touch and talk alone.  Struggles of teenage hormones and general horniness, at their best.  

Stiles loved the closeness of it, the unspoken bond as they tried very hard to come together as one person, just for that evening.  There was no space between them, mashing lips and bodies into a solid heap. 

Once they separated, a near Herculean task, they did as they'd planned and headed to the two separate bathrooms.

Stiles was secretly grateful for separate showering.  Which meant for separate prepping and separate...  Cleaning.  

As much as Stiles loved Derek, there were some things that he REALLY did not want to see, or things he REALLY did not want Derek to see.  

After thoroughly washing each crack and crevice, Stiles dried off, wrapping a towel around his waist and headed up the staircase.  

With perfect timing, Stiles met Derek coming out of his and Scott's shared bathroom, completely naked as he tried off his hair.  

While Stiles had seen Derek naked before, it was the first time he'd been able to get a good look at just...  Everything.  

There was a low grade body hair covering every inch of Derek's body, like fur.  He definitely looked warm and huggable, like a teddy bear.  

Derek rocked a hard set of abs, thigh muscles that could crack a human skull, and a mild tan covering all of his body.    

Then there was his dick, a good six inches flaccid, with eight or nine inches when erected.  Surprisingly enough, Derek manscaped, with a relatively clean shaven pubic region.

"Like what you see?" Derek said, stepping forward as he threw his towel away, back into the bathroom he'd exited from.  

Stiles nodded, planting his head in Derek's thick chest muscles and inhaling the fresh scent of soap and Derek mixing together.  "Meh.  A solid 7 out of ten.  The whole "sexy muscle bear god" is so overdone," he joked, putting his hand around Derek's cock.  He tugged at the already growing mass, as Derek chuckled.  

"Why do I get the feeling that's a lie?" Derek said, pulling Stiles close and ripping away his towel.  Bending over Stiles, Derek nibbled on Stiles' earlobe, pulling them towards his bedroom.

Yelping, Stiles felt the nerves around his ears and neck tingle from the nibbles.  "You have a thing for biting, I get that and want you to do it more, but..  You do know I'm not a chew toy, correct?" he said, as Derek slammed his bedroom door behind them.  

They fell down, with Derek on top of Stiles, sucking marks into Stiles' neck.  "Mmm...  I know, but you're so tasty.  Like a big bone to play fetch with," he joked, running his teeth up and down Stiles' neck.

"The only big bone around here is your goddamn cock, which should REALLY be somewhere right now," Stiles whined, taking his frustration out on Derek's chest and gnawing on his nipple.  

Derek shivered, feeling the bite go straight to his dick.  

"HARDER, bite me HARDER," Derek begged, leaning up and giving his mouth a break.  He just wanted to watch Stiles for a bit, biting and marking him up.  Despite their rather vigorous making out, Stiles had never really done the stuff other wolf mates would do, things that he was craving for.  He wanted the biting, the struggle for domination, acts of submission, topping from the bottom, bottoming from the top, being flexible in who the "Alpha" in the relationship was, and just...  Letting go.

Stiles glanced up, with a dropped jaw.  "This gets you fucking hot, doesn't it?" he exclaimed, tracing the small tooth indentions in Derek's chest.  

With a hearty laugh, Derek nodded as he exposed his neck to Stiles.  "You complain about me not saying what I want, so here's what I fucking want.  I want you to mark me up, let everyone know that I'm yours, and you're mine.  I'm made of tough stuff, don't hold back, you're not going to hurt me," he said, licking his lips.

"Whatever you want wolfie...  But while I do that, I want you fingering me, so lube the fuck up," Stiles said, making himself comfortable atop Derek's chest and nibbling on Derek's neck.  

Excitedly, Derek leaned over the side of the bed and supporting Stiles' weight, while retrieving the lube out of the walgreens sack.  He splurged a good helping over his fingertips, and adjusting their bodies so Derek could get a good angle at Stiles' groin.

"Front or back?" Derek asked, inhaling deeply as he felt Stiles actually draw blood from his bite.  

Stiles came up for air, painting.  He smirked at the hickey forming all over Derek's neck from his kisses and bites.  "Front.  Get me ready for...  The main event.  I...  I want to try the frontside with you, if that's okay," he said, beaming from excitement.

"Hope I do this right...  I...  I had to fucking ask LYDIA about this.  You know how embarrassing that was?" Derek said, flipping Stiles around so his back was resting on Derek's chest.  He leaned up so he could sit against his headboard.

Snorting, Stiles shook his head.  "Oh my God, you actually asked Lydia how to have sex with the female biology?  How embarrassing was that?  I want a LITERAL answer on this," he asked, guiding Derek's hand to his crotch.

"Not as embarrassing as the porn my mother caught me watching.  Which, by the way, I discovered a lot of role playing I'd like to test out when we're more comfortable," Derek said, laying Stiles so his head rested on the crook of his neck.

"Mmm...  Why wait?  We've got plenty of time today, don't we?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.  

Ignoring the urge to inform Stiles about his food kink, Derek slid his hand over Stiles' groin, using his lubricated hand to schlick it back and forth.  He gently caressed and squeezed Stiles' clit, rubbing it between his lubed fingers.

Seeing stars, Stiles squeaked, sinking his nails firmly into Derek's thighs.  Those warm, rugged hands slowly sunk inside of him, exploring each and every spot.  They adjusted with the timing of Stiles' moans and movements, with Derek's ears listening in on what made Stiles' toes curl.

Stiles breathed in and out heavily, opening up his mouth and nibbling on Derek's shoulder.  "Right there!" Stiles moaned, biting down on Derek's shoulder when he found THE spot.

Growling at his mate's satisfaction, Derek went into overtime, massaging Stiles' clit, while gently rubbing his fingers inside of Stiles.  "I'm your...  I'm ALL yours, forEVER-" he yelped, feeling as Stiles didn't waste any time sucking a hickey right on the cusp on Derek's shoulder.  Unable to reach Derek's neck, Stiles instead made himself comfortable sucking on the left side of Derek's chest and shoulder.

"Keep going, holy shit..." Stiles begged.

Doing just that, Derek fingered in and around Stiles through an orgasm.  Stiles squeaked at the sensation as his body tensed up and squeezed on Derek's fingers, wanting to keep them in place.  At the same time, Derek had been dry-humping Stiles' back, thrusting his dick in the friction right above Stiles' ass.  Feeling his mate orgasm and radiate pleasure from his heart had Derek cumming all over his mate from behind.  

Using a small rag, Stiles cleaned them both up, as Derek looked and appreciated his new bite marks.  

"Satisfied?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow back and forth in an attempt to be seductive.  

Derek nodded, actually falling for the sexy eyebrows.  "Hell yes," he said, as Stiles took his place in Derek's lap.  Massaging his mate's shoulders, Derek pressed much gentler kisses in Stiles' temple.  

"Really now?  So you're not wanting to keep going? I'm seriously feeling frisky, like you're sweating wolf into me and I want to stay like this forever," Stiles asked, with a smirky grin.

Sighing, Derek attempted to act put out.  "Gee, I suppose I could stand just one more round..." he said, cupping Stiles' ass.

"Or twenty?" Stiles asked.

"Thirty?" Derek said.

"I think the friction would set me on fire by that point," Stiles said, pouting.

"Fire is bad," Derek replied.

"Very bad," Stiles answered.

"Why aren't we fucking?" Derek said, scoffing.

"Because you have a loudmouth boyfriend with a big mouth," Stiles answered.

"A big mouth I hope to be acquainted with later," Derek said, as he moved him and Stiles on the opposite end of the bed, laid out flat with Stiles laid out on Derek's stomach.  

"Shut up, I get it, we're both talking to cut the tension about fucking, so get me a condom and let's just...  Do it," Stiles said, stammering over his words as he took in what he was...  About to take in.  Because Derek hadn't shrunk down once since they'd started downstairs, and Stiles could tell WHY it wasn't going down.  A factoid that Scott and Jackson shared with him, that while in their human state, male werewolves couldn't get soft until themselves and their female werewolf was satisfied fully.  

Derek gulped, in a similar nervousness, reaching up and grasping at Stiles' chest.  "You know...  We don't have to...  I'm fine with just fooling around and...  Exploring," he admitted.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "Derek, get me a goddamn condom.  I'm going to wrap up your cock, you're going to fuck me, and then I'm strapping on one of my toys and you're going to return the favor.  Does that sound fair?" he asked.

"Yes that is VERY fair," Derek answered, reaching over and grabbing the box of condoms out of the shopping bag.  He took one of the wrappers, handing it to Stiles, but holding onto it as Stiles tried to take it from him.  "If I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you tell me, got it?" he said seriously.

"Derek, you have a 8 inch cock that could double as a pepperidge farm christmas log.  I will probably have a mild discomfort at first, but that's first time sex for anyone.  We'll take it slow, okay?" Stiles said, snagging the condom out of Derek's hands.

"Pfft.  It's 8 and a half," Derek said, clearly wounded at Stiles' less than accurate measurement.

Rolling his eyes, Stiles carefully peeled open the condom wrapper, retrieving the rubber and turning to face Derek.  He then turned down, seeing all 8 inches of solid girth.  Flushing, Stiles held out his hand.  "Uh...  Lubricant?" he asked, feeling butterflies roll over in his stomach.  

"Got it," Derek said, reaching over his bed and snagging the clear bottle.

Stiles held the rubber in his hands.  

Derek held the lube in his.  

They both stared the the objects in their hands for several minutes, until Stiles finally shook off his nervousness.

"I take it we're both virgins?" Stiles said, snorting as he fitted the condom over Derek's member, sticking it all the way down, making sure it was properly snug.  

Derek cleared his throat, glancing away as Stiles kneaded his dick to test the condom's sturdiness.  "I uh, yeah," he said, handing the lube over to Stiles.

Uncorking the top, Stiles poured a handful of lube on his right hand, slicking up and down Derek's cock.  "Seriously?  Here I was hoping you had some experience McSexy Wolf.  Cuz frankly, I'm going in blind," he said.

Derek snorted.  "Actually, I'm the one going in, remember?" he asked snarkily.  The heat from Stiles' hand on his dick and the following laughter all accumulated in his chest, a bright joy at all the luck he had in finding someone so perfect.

"Oh my GOD, shut up, I'M the funny one!" Stiles said, beaming from ear to ear.

Rolling his eyes, Derek pulled Stiles up on his lap, letting the smaller one straddle his waist.  "You make me want to be a funny one," he said, pressing a deep kiss into Stiles' mouth.  Derek lapped his tongue over Stiles' lips.  

"Awww...  Well, you're adorable when you're funny.  I want that more often," Stiles said, scooching down on Derek's groin and grabbing his dick.  He lined it up with his entrance, prodding where it was supposed to go.  No need in embarrassing Derek with a guessing game, he'd read those horror stories about guys trying for the wrong...Hole.  This wasn't going to end up on a Cosmo "whoopsie whoopie" column.

Derek hitched his breath.  "Well now...  You're uh...  Taking the bull by the horns," he said.

Stiles pulled Derek closer, as the first few inches came in, prodding at his hymen.  "J..Just a minute," he said, moaning as he wanted nothing more than to shove it in all the way, but...  Nope, that was not going to happen.  There would be gentle stretching first, PLENTY of gentle stretching.  Blood would not be good, Derek would probably flip out. 

"Fuuuuck, you're huge.  Like in BOTH ways.  Long and thick..." Stiles said, gently pushing Derek's cock in and out of him at an appropriate pace.

Derek ran his tongue over his teeth, watching Stiles take complete control.  His mate, like he did in life, got whatever the fuck he wanted.  The friction on his dick was too much, and he lost the "that's what he said" joke somewhere in between his chest and tongue.  

After what seemed like a small eternity, Stiles eased Derek further in, about halfway down his shaft.  Stiles let out a heavy breath, grinning.  "Okay...  okay, I think I'm good..  You can...  You can..  You can come in," Stiles said, sliding Derek out of him entirely and laying out on the bed.  He moved to spread out on his back.

Excitedly, Derek sprawled out on top of Stiles, pressing kisses up and down his chest.  He moved downward, until he reached Stiles' vagina. Derek nearly started lapping at his clit and lips, stopping just short of it.

"I uh...  I should have protection for this part, shouldn't I?" Derek asked.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "We can discuss safe oral sex later.  How about you, oh gee, I don't know...  FUCK ME LIKE WE WERE ABOUT TO DO?" he demanded.

Leaning up, Derek positioned himself over stiles, letting his wrapped up cock teeter just outside of Stiles' entrance.  "I just..  I don't want to hurt you," he mumbled quietly.

"You've stretched me out already, so just come in gently.  I'll get used to it and then you can start pounding me.  Just...  Fuck, you're not going to hurt me Derek, you're like..  The Anti-hurt.  You're the anti-asshole.  You're not making this a one-night-stand, and I know we're probably going to spend the rest of our lives together, and I know I'll be safe through it all.  You are...  You're so fucking good to me," Stiles said, leaning up and kissing Derek on the lips.  He put his arms around Derek's neck, bringing them together for a tongue deep kiss.  

Derek felt the fluttering in his own heart, and the thudding in Stiles' chest.  

"You're good to me too," Derek said, kissing back.  He let his cock rub up against Stiles' stomach, as the warmth began spreading out from his groin all the way down to his feet. 

They both broke away from their kiss, baring into each other's eyes.

"I love you...  I love you so fucking much...  You are...  You are my everything," Derek said.

Stiles grinned.  "I love you too.  Derek, you're...  You're perfect.  I'm so glad I met you, and the pack, and...  Mom was right," he answered.  

"About what?" Derek asked curiously.  

Laughing, Stiles shook his head.  "She told me that every storm runs out of rain, like that shitty country song.  That even though everything was shit back at the start of this school year, it'd get better and that I shouldn't give up.  She said that the bad in the world doesn't stay forever, so it's all about waiting for the good," he said, pulling Derek down so their hearts were right next to each other.  "I wanted so much more out of this life than what I had, and...  I found it here, with you.  What I thought was going to be a prison turned out to be...  My dream," he said.  

Derek heard Stiles' heart.  A steady, happy, and hot beat.  

"I'm glad I get to spend it with you," Derek answered, shutting his eyes.

To which they immediately opened as Stiles slapped him HARD on the ass, leaving a bright red mark.  "Okay, mushy stuff aside, can we get to the fucking now?" he said, attempting to hide a stray tear.

Derek chuckled.  "Let me just stretch you out a bit more.  I don't want you to-"

Stiles faked the best growl he could, mimicking Derek.  "Would you quit pussy-footing around and MOUNT ME LIKE A GODDAMN...  Oh fuck, what mounts things...  A MOUNTIE.  I WANT THE FULL FORCE OF CANADA HERE.  THE HORSES, RED UNIFORMS, AND EVERYTHING!  I FUCKING WANT YOU, AND YOU BETTER GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT oh there it is..." he yelled, oddly content as Derek pushed him down on the bed, lining up his dick with Stiles' assistance and thrusting in.

Smirking, Derek chuckled loudly at the mental image, pushing in and out with a renewed vigor.  "Is there something about dicks that fries you sarcasm?" he asked, baring his teeth down on Stiles' neck as he took him from behind.  He felt Stiles' heart uptick and his body melting underneath him as their skin melted into one sweaty mess.  The smell of contentment, like ripened fruit, bled from Stiles' pours, throwing Derek's heartbeat into overtime.

"Just yours," Stiles panted, thrusting back in time with Derek's movements.  

They both laughed, broken up with a loud squeal from Stiles.  The tip of Derek's dick found the magical "Stiles likes being touched here do it again" spot, and Derek felt Stiles writhe  underneath him, as his muscles contracted in orgasm.

Derek continued a gentle thrust on Stiles' g-spot throughout the orgasm, feeling as his curled his toes underneath him, while his heart rate skyrocketed, and a broken moan left his lips.

"I take it you came?" Derek said, smelling  the wet from Stiles' organ oozing around him.  

Stiles nodded, as he came down from the stratosphere.  "Yeah...  Holy fuck...  It's seriously my turn to apologize...  That was...  You were just so...  THERE, and...  Wait, did you come yet?" he asked, realizing that he didn't feel Derek tensing.

"Not yet, you rest for a bit and we'll start back up," Derek offered.

Huffing, Stiles pouted.  "Oh hell no, let me help you with that," he said, gently pushing Derek out of him and throwing Derek backwards.  Stiles pulled off his mate's condom, tying it off and throwing it in the nearby wastebasket.  He hurriedly cleaned Derek's dick with the wet washcloth, and fitted a new condom in record time.  

"What...  What are you planning, you devious bastard?" Derek asked eagerly, watching as Stiles hovered his mouth over Derek's dick.

Stiles smirked.  "Just about everything in the book.  Hope you weren't planning on being able to sit down for a week," he said, with a genuinely sexy (and terrifying) glance.  He put the tip of the wrapped dick in his mouth, sucking on and around it, and swirling his tongue.

Derek flushed, knowing he was going to last all of ten seconds like that.  The whole fucking night was going to be the two of the cumming WAY too fucking fast.

-

In reality, the "all day" sex wasn't really all day, Derek had exaggerated that part.

It was more like...  13 hours of sex, sleeping, more sex, making out, and one final crash as they'd both decided they'd had enough.

Stiles had fallen asleep at about 7 at night on the day after they'd started their "bonding bite", and hadn't woken up.  Derek was not about to disturb Stiles, considering the human had MUCH less stamina than he did.  

Though when he did wake up, Derek was going to make DAMN well sure his mate had every need taken care of.

So by about 6 in the morning , Derek had gone downstairs to cook breakfast.  Spending a solid thirty minutes swearing like a sailor as grease popped on his bare chest (because wearing a shirt would make it impossible to appreciate the hickies Stiles had decorated his body with, the house was lucky he'd put on his boxer shorts), Derek had finally gotten enough food to feed both him and Stiles.

He threw it all on a massive tray, didn't even bother with silverware, and grabbed two jugs of orange juice from the fridge.  Derek hefted it all upstairs, and gently creaked open the door, hearing noise on the other side.

Derek smiled, seeing his mate wrapped up in his deep red sheets, like a cocoon.  He was curled up in a ball, letting out mildly content hums as he watched the early morning talk shows give the latest news and weather.

Raising his head up, Stiles met Derek's eyes.  "Morning.  Have you been cooking?" he asked.

He rolled his eyes, glancing down at the tray of food.  "No, I've been knitting you a sweater," Derek said, laughing.  "Brought you some breakfast.  Bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice, and pop tarts," he said, walking the breakfast tray through the door.  "How are you feeling, my little blanket burrito?" Derek asked, laying out the breakfast spread on the table next to his bed.  He tried to ignore the two empty bottles of lube or the wastebasket filled will condoms.  Even for a human with werwolf stamina being given to him, Stiles was a fucking TROOPER.  Next time, he was definitely going to have to buy more supplies.

Stiles let out a contented sigh.  "I'm a well-fucked burrito that is NEVER doing that again unless I'm drunk or it's our anniversary.  I seriously think you broke my ass and vagina.  A good kind of breaking, but holy hell...  The Kama Sutra needs to publish a supplement after what we did last night," he said, yawning loudly.  He didn't even argue as Derek pushed him off his side of the bed, making room for himself.

"Yeah, well my ass did a marathon with you and your strap-on.  I had to SHIFT this morning so it would fix itself.  Fucking hell, you're like a jackhammer of sugar-based energy," Derek said, hand-feeding Stiles a piece of bacon.

"Meanwhile, the bonding bite wasn't as bad as I thought," Stiles announced, turning to the four large holes that had already scabbed over on his neck.  A mark that Derek had bitten into him after they FINALLY came at the same time, somewhere around take 13.  

Snorting, Derek pulled the wrapped-up Stiles within inches of him.  He lapped at the bite mark on Stiles' collarbone, while gently touching his own.  "Same here, but..  I never figured that you would have bitten so DEEP.  God damn...  I think you bit harder than me when we came," Derek said, admitting it proudly.

A loud yawn escaped Stiles' throat again, and he used Derek as a pillow and source of feeding.  

The taller mate kept hand-feeding Stiles plenty of red meat and pancakes, offering him juice intermittently.  

They sat in silence, pretending to watch TV while they bathed in the afterglow and the gentle touches they shared with one and other.  

Stiles curling his toes around Derek's foot.  

Derek gently rubbing Stiles' back, using his free hand to run through Stiles' hair.  

Stiles constantly maneuvering his body so that he and Derek fit together like a puzzle piece.  

Before they knew it, the TV was starting to show soap operas in the early afternoon.  In what seemed like an eternity of silence and bonding, Stiles turned his head up to face Derek.

"You know...  That was actually fun.  Like...  It was sexy, satisfying, and...  HOLY FUCK YOU HAVE A DICK I WANT TO WRITE SONNETS TO, but...  I never thought sex could be like "fun" "fun".  I thought it was all about pleasure and sweat and fluids and...  Well in my case, that went a lot better than I thought it was going to be.  I like sex where there is laughter in it," Stiles said, with a beaming smile.

Derek rolled his eyes.  "Stiles, I always had an inkling that sex with you was going to be different, and BOY was I right about that..." he said, pressing a loud SMACK of a kiss on STiles' head.  "But it really was special, unique, and...  It felt right," he admitted.

Stiles nodded.  "Yeah...  You're right it...  It felt right," he said, letting his eyes close as a second round of fatigue his his head.  

"Want me to hold you up in the shower to clean up and then wrap up this day with a nice warm bath?" Derek asked.

Moaning, Stiles nodded.  "Yes...  Yes I would love that Derek, and you-"

Their moment was cut short as Derek's phone began vibrating violently.  

"Derek, I order you to KILL whoever is calling us.  They should know we are INDISPOSED right now.  The fucked burrito is not pleased," Stiles announced.

Rolling his eyes, Derek grabbed his phone and put it up to his ear.  "What?" he asked.

Stiles glanced up, watching Derek's face slowly flush.  

"Yes...  Yes...  Yes.... Okay, I understand, but there's...  There's not a lot I can do about that, just...  Fuck, THEY KNEW it was coming!" Derek yelled, facepalming.  

The conversation is short, ended when Derek switches his phone off and slams it against the night stand.  

"What?" Stiles asked, with a concerned glare.

Derek shook his head.  "That was Scott.  He informs me that our entire street reeks of sex because I sort of...  I uh..  I may have accidentally left the upstairs window open while I was showering last night, and uh...  Our neighbors might have...  Uh...  Well, they might have heard a few things," he whispered.

A low rosy blush covered both of their faces.

"Uh...  Like what did they uh... Hear?" Stiles asked.

Derek cleared his throat.  "The uh...  Well, all of it," he mumbled.

There is a quiet moment of silence between them.  

"So...  On a scale of 1 to 10, how much joking are we going to get Monday when we go back to school?" Stiles asked.

Derek cleared his throat.  "Well...  Jackson knows about our pet names we used last night, so...  A solid 12, maybe even 13," he answered.

Retracting his head into the covers along with the rest of his body, Stiles groaned.  "I'm a now well-fucked turtle who is NEVER coming out," he announced.

\------

Unfortunately for Stiles, the well-fucked turtle did eventually have to come out.  He and Derek showered, bathed, dried off, and dressed in clothes as they aired out the sex-scented home in the hopes that it could be inhabitable by that evening.  

Scott came by for a few minutes to grab a few things, only to dry-heave at the smell of his brother's sex-scent.  To which, Derek high-fived Stiles in victory.

Wanting a chance to get some fresh air, Stiles walked home, accompanied by Scott, who was unfortunate enough to have to hear Stiles rant and rave about his amazing night, at least until Stiles could get Lydia or Alison on the phone.

But all good things came to an end, and Stiles found himself entering his home by early afternoon on Sunday.  While his walking had gotten much better, he still had a pronounced soreness to him.

"Have fun?" Claudia asked.

Jumping out of his skin, Stiles turned to meet his mother and Ethan, who were both staring at him from the living room with eager glares.

Stiles nodded, slowly making his way towards them in the living area.  "Good... Good...  Derek and I uh...  Did stuff.  Played games.  You know, uh...  Typical teenage shit," he answered.

Ethan huffed through his nose, clearly not buying the story.  Though as he rose his nose up in the air, the wolf could probably smell the after-sex scents, explaining his wolfish grin.

"So..  What did you and Derek do all day?  Must have been some pretty strenuous games to leave you THAT sore," Claudia asked, with a playful smirk

Stiles stopped dead in his tracks, flushing

"Checkers.  We uh..  We played checkers," Stiles said, trying to think of the first game that came to mind.  He also was going to have a serious talk with his subconscious later, because that had to be the single LAMEST explanation in the history of mankind.

"Checkers?  Ah...  Well, I could see why you're sore.  With all that jumping back and forth on the board," Claudia said, turning to Ethan and winking.

Stiles sighed, holding onto his father's recliner.  "Yeah, well...  It was...  A pretty heated game?" he said, not really sure where this conversation was going.

"Ah..  Well, did Derek... Jump you frequently?" Claudia asked.

"She knows," Stiles thought, groaning as he plopped down on the recliner, taking a deep breath.  "Yeah, Derek is pretty good at jumping me.  Though I'm not a bad jumper either, I just uh...  I like getting jumped?" he said, getting onboard the train to euphemism hell.  

Claudia nodded, still intently focused on her knitting.  "Ah.  Well, how often did you "win"?  I hope Derek let you "win" plenty, if he really is that good of a jumper," she said, pretending not to be all that interested.

Stiles snorted.  "Oh...  I'd say we tied pretty often," he said, suddenly realizing how fucking SUGGESTIVE that was for someone that had a wolf as a boyfriend.  He slapped himself in the face.  "I mean...  We both won at the same time, not TIED TIED, like a dog ties, but I Uh..  You know what I mean," he said,

As if she finally got the double-entendre, Claudia let go of her knitting, literally falling off of the couch into a heap of laughter, cackling like a hyena.  "Oh my God, STILES.  THAT WAS AWFUL!  NEVER EVER SAY that again, I think I'm going to wet myself!" she screeched.  

Even Ethan started snorting repeatedly in the corner, rolling on his back and mimicking Claudia.

"Traitor," Stiles spat in Ethan's direction, still flushed.  

The laughing fit went on for a good five minutes, until both Claudia and Ethan settled down.

"Did you play your games... Safely?  I know how sharp those checkers can be," Claudia said, wiping away a stray tear from the laughter.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "Yes mother, I wore gloves while playing Checkers, I'm not stupid. They weren't really necessary, but I did anyway," he said, wondering why they really did care so much about protection.  They were both virgins, Stiles was on T and couldn't get pregnant, and he was pretty certain Derek was the kind of guy who'd admit if he had a STI.

"Well...  Knowing that you are... You, can I assume that you and Derek are going to be doing more than just...  Playing games?" Claudia asked.

"Yes mom," Stiles said, finally deciding to drop the charade.  "Total honesty moment?" he asked.

Claudia nodded.  "Total honesty," she said.

Stiles took a deep breath.  "I am like...  Crazy in love with him.  It's not even about the sex, if Derek wanted to wait for sex, or if I wanted to wait for sex, I get the feeling that we'd both wait, but we see each other as WORTH IT.  He's got the crazy werewolf mating thing going on, but I can just TELL that he he'd do anything for me, and I know that I'd do anything for him.  But then it's like...  We both know when the other is doing some stupid shit, and we're close enough and honest enough to want to fix each other.  I...  I seriously love everything about him," he said, talking at warp-speeds and beaming as he said it.  

Claudia threw her hands up, letting Ethan take his place in her lap, where he'd been most of the afternoon.  She rubbed his head and that special spot right behind his ears.  "So then the sex you two just had, can I assume that you felt it was the right thing to do?  Was it just about the lust, or...  Something more?  I don't think virginity is all it's cracked up to be, but...  Sex is something special, not just an hour long romp where you mash your bits together," she asked.

"More," Stiles said, shutting his eyes as he recalled it.  

Really, it wasn't even about the sex or the cumming, or getting orgasms.  What he remembered most about it was the conversations, the joking, the sarcasm, the back-and-forth dialog, the openness, and...  How good it felt being in Derek’s arms.  Like even when he was naked, vulnerable, and in a state that he would be terrified for anyone else to see him in?  

He felt like he was at home, somewhere safe and warm.

Claudia smiled, watching her son's expression behind his closed eyes.  The warm smile and relaxed features said it all.  

"I’m happy for you Stiles.  I…  I’m glad you found something who’s right for you,” was all she could muster up to say.  


	19. Chapter 19

The "humiliation" on Monday at school was not at all what Stiles had expected.  

Naturally, Jackson had taken great lengths to call Stiles "Honeycakes", and commented on the sturdiness of Derek's ass after dealing with "Excalibur" (which Stiles had regretfully chosen to name his golden-colored strap-on).  But Jackson was a douchebag, that much was expected.

It was everyone else that Stiles noticed had changed.

There was an odd sense of...  Respect?  Yeah, Stiles figured Respect was the best way to put how everyone treated him and Derek afterwards.

Allison and Lydia gave him tight hugs, followed by a short set of waterworks.

Scott went out of his way shake Stiles' hand in a "professional" manner, welcoming him to the McCall/Hale family.

All of Derek's kids?  They FLOCKED to Stiles after school one day, several of them calling him "Dad" in hushed whispered, as opposed to Derek, who they openly referred to as "Papa".  

He could have dismissed the former oddities with happy friends and family, but...

Well, the weirdness came in because Matt Dahler, the biggest asshole in the school, said NOTHING even the least bit rude to them.  In fact, he nodded a mild "congratulations", as he pointed to the VERY noticeable bonding marks on both Derek and Stiles' neck.  While he didn't bow or make friendly, it was his restraint that really set Stiles.

Danny, who had been coming to school FREQUENTLY with Isaac as of late, was the one who broke the big news.  

"You are, for all intents and purposes, engaged to Derek.  You're protected by your mate and you're the protector of your mate.  There are serious laws in town about "messing" another wolf's mate, which would legalize murder," Danny explained to him one morning in the Cafeteria.  

When pressed on the issue, Derek denied any "engagement", but did confirm about the bonding bite being a serious bit of law in the town.  Things would definitely change on how the town treated Stiles, given that his mate was one of the biggest and strongest wolves in the town, comparative only by his younger brother, or the leaders of the factions themselves.

So Stiles rode on that roller-coaster of good news (and how the fact that he was HUMAN didn't seem to even matter by this point, or even remembered by half the town), all the way to Christmas break.

He would have been riding high all the way through Christmas, EXCEPT...  Well, except for the fact that he was packing a bag like the rest of his family.  Even Ethan was packing, trotting in and out of Stiles' bedroom and getting his blankets, pillows, and half a dozen books that he'd been reading during his free time.  (And apparently Ethan had a thing for vampire books?  Who knew?)

Derek was pacing back and forth, assisting Stiles.

"So...  How long are you leaving for again?" Derek asked, huffing as he folded Stiles' shirts, sticking them inside a large suitcase.

Stiles smirked, leaning in and sharing a quick kiss with Derek.  "I'm going to be gone for just a week, it's not THAT bad.  I'm visiting my Aunt Gertrude back in Lilyvale so we can have our lame-ass family Christmas on my dad's side.  Then I'm going to San Francisco for a few days for my mom's side of the family.  Then back home to Beacon Hills, and we'll be back by the 21st at the latest.  Then we can have the McCall/Stilinski Christmas," he explained for what felt like the thirtieth time.  The jury in Stiles' brain was still out on if Derek had the capability of pining, but his mate's eyes were certainly begging him not to go.

Huffing, Derek landed his head on Stiles' shoulder.  "Are you going to have fun?" he asked.

Stiles nodded.  "Yeah, I can't wait to catch up with my friend Kira from school.  Aunt Gertrude is a funny lady with like 10 cats, but makes a hash brown casserole that I would murder Jackson ten times over for," he said, licking his lips dreamily.  Though he did frown shortly thereafter.  "It sucks though, because she's the only one from dad's side that still wants to be around us, and I know it kills him that he can't be with his parents.  Oh well, their loss," he said, shrugging.

"How about your mom's family?" Derek asked, massaging Stiles' shoulders as his mate moved to pack some books and his portable gaming systems for the drive up there.  He was very eager to change the topic of discussion, because apparently Sheriff Stilinski's family was part of the hyper-assholes of Douchebag 9, and he knew Stiles didn't like talking about them.

Smiling, Stiles took a deep and contented breath.  "Like SUPER nice.  They don't know how to cook, so Dad and I have to do ALL of it, but totally worth it.  I love my little cousins, because they're ADORABLE and have me play video games for the entire time we're not eating or opening presents.  Oh, and then we TRY to play a game of football, which is basically an excuse for my cousins to tackle Dad and me as hard as they can," he said, snorting loudly at the thought of it.

"Sounds like fun, kind of like what me and my dad used to do with Scott," Derek offered with a fond smile.  He chuckled, shaking his head.  "I miss those days..  I guess we could try that at Peter's Christmas, but I'm scared that we would break Scott," he said with a smirky grin.

"Well...  Then you could come with me," Stiles offered.

It took a moment for Stiles to find the courage to glance up at his mate.  Derek had stopped massaging his shoulders, and the awkward level was going up with each second.

"What?" Derek finally managed to stammer out, as if Stiles had asked him to go on a lovely tour of Chernobyl without any clothes on.

Stiles laughed.  "Derek, I'm asking you to come with me.  Mom and dad already said yes, so it's really just up to you, but...  I'd love for you to meet the rest of my family.  Actually my mom's sister is already threatening my life if I don't bring "the hot ass boyfriend" for her to ask inappropriate questions to she's going to tease me all week," he said, clearing his throat.

Like a rolly chair, Derek spun Stiles around.  His face was a mix of curiosity, fear, and a halfway decent smile.  "Let me get this straight Stiles..."

"Okay," Stiles said, nodding.

"You are asking your cursed werewolf boyfriend to leave the town he's been cursed in, and go meet your family.  A family who probably has no idea what our real wolf-based relationship is, and who might actually hear me growl, or notice that I have canine teeth alongside my human teeth?  People who might actually outright think you are a FREAK for family" Derek said, with a raised eyebrow.

"So THAT'S why you have more teeth!  God, I was going INSANE counting your teeth last week with my tongue, thinking I flunked third grade math, and then there was the whole wondering if you were getting bored with the make out, and I-"

"STILES, FOCUS," Derek said, snorting.  

Stiles shook his head. "Listen, if you don't want to leave the town, I understand.  I get the whole taboo and fear about being found out, but I uh...  Well, I wanted to let you know you were welcome," he said.

Blinking quietly, Derek took a deep breath.  "The full moon is on Christmas this year.  As long as I'm back by Christmas Eve, the day before,...  There's no town law that says I can't leave.  But...  If I'm not back by then, they'll send out the Sun Faction to deal with me," he said, gulping quietly.

"Dude, are you...  Are you saying..." Stiles said, with a giddy grin.

"I'll have to ask mom, but...  I'm sure she'll let me go," Derek sighed.

Squealing at the top of his lungs, Stiles jumped on his bed to get high enough to actually then jump into Derek's chest.  He toppled them both to the ground on the plush carpeting, hugging his neck with all he could muster, actually turning the werewolf blue.

"OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU, AUNT SHELIA IS GOING TO ASK SO MANY INAPPROPRIATE QUESTIONS, AND COUSIN MOIRA IS GOING TO HAVE A HUGE ASS CRUSH ON YOU AND YOUR CHEST, SO JUST DEAL WITH THE INSTAGRAM PICTURES, OKAY?" Stiles shrieked.

Derek couldn't help but grin, feeling the secondhand joy radiating off Stiles.  Most of which went STRAIGHT to Derek's dick, but which Derek demanded calm the fuck down, because this was happy joy joy mating time, not sexy fuck fuck mating time.  

...

Derek was pretty sure Stiles' thought process was slowly bleeding into his brain.  He was somewhat okay with that.

"I can't wait.  I can't wait to see the melting pot that made all of THIS," Derek said, patting Stiles's sides.  

"Your funeral," Stiles said, laughing.  "OH!  Derek?  Can we like exchange presents today?  I seriously cannot wait any longer, I want you to see it, and I want you to wear it while we're visiting my family," he said, leaning up while making a comfortable seat of Derek's chest.

Derek nodded.  "Absolutely," he said, pushing them both up off the ground.  He reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving a black box.  "Here...  This is for you..  Merry Christmas Stiles," he said, resisting the wolfy urge to get down on one knee, or go out and hunt a small heap of venison to add to the totally not engagement ring.

Popping open the hand-made ring, Stiles let his mouth drop quietly.

"Oh my God...  Derek, this is...  Oh wow," he said, holding up the ring to inspect it.  In a rare span of MINUTES, Stiles was completely silent, and clearly speechless.  

He then quickly rose an eyebrow.  "Should I be renting a hall and finding a florist who isn't an asshole piece of shit?"

Derek rolled his eyes.  "No," he said, shaking his head.  "But...   I...  I like the idea of you...  Wearing a ring that...  That's mine.  I want you to know how I feel, and-" he said, stammering over the words.  

"Promise ring?  Pre-engagement?  Engagement?" Stiles asked, patting Derek on the back.  "Dude, BREATHE, you're acting like Jackson when Lydia's got the riding crop," he said, trying to break the tension.

Derek slapped himself in the face to bring him down to earth.  He was being ridiculous.  Stiles and he had SEX.  They'd said they loved each other.  Stiles was NOT going to laugh at him.  He wasn't leaving.  His mate was...  So good.  

"It's a promise ring.  Meaning that when we're old enough, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  I want to marry you, have a family, be your protector, and all the bullshit that comes with a long term relationship," Derek said, with the rare cohesion that he didn't know he had.

"Awww...  I love it," Stiles said, shoving it on his...  

On his left hand.  

The LEFT hand.

Stiles had HIS ring on HIS LEFT hand.

Like an engagement ring.

"Well, I'm totally yours.  Thank you so much, I love it and I love you babe," Stiles said, with a cute smile as he pecked a kiss on Derek's cheek.

Derek's dick was betraying him again.  Happy happy fuck fuck mate time needed to be RIGHT THEN AND THERE, but Mr. Stilinski was downstairs, and Ethan was in the next room packing.  Probably not the most appropriate time, given the sonic boom would be rather loud.  

"You have...  The most peculiar looking face right now," Stiles said, putting his newly ringed hand on his waist.  Those goddamn hands and ridiculously sexy fingers touching HIS MATE's ring on HIS left hand.  

"I'm glad you are happy," Derek said, clearing his throat as he tried to think of anything non-sexy to cease his dick's control.  

Stiles folded his arms.  "You are totally thinking about fucking me, aren't you?  The whole long term relationship thing is like hard-core porn to you isn't it?" he asked.

"Maybe," Derek admitted.

Sensing the weakness, Stiles smirked.  "The future Mr. Stiles McCall is totally seeing through your bullshit, your dick is totally not subtle at ALL," he said, pointing to the growing bulge in Derek's pants.

"For the love of God, FUCK HIM NOW," Derek felt his dick screaming.  Instead, he chose the higher ground, shutting his eyes to calm down.  "I think you said you had a gift for me?" he asked.

Stiles grinned cheekily.  "Well actually, I've got two gifts for you.  Actually, one of them is for US, but the other one is for you.  Let's start with the one for US," he admitted, pulling off his shirt while he moved to shut the door to his room.

Carefully, Derek tried not to gulp.  There was what looked like a square bandage covering the left side of his chest.  It was a new addition.  Then again, Stiles and he hadn't had sex since their first time, given semester exams and all the crazy Christmas rush.  So Derek hadn't seen Stiles without a shirt on for a while.  Which was totally not helping his downstairs dick party.

"Sorry if I've been a little tame on make outs lately, this hurt like hell to get, just so you know.  Was VERY sore," Stiles said, as he slowly peeled off the bandage.

Underneath, Derek had to do a double take.  A crescent moon tattoo, inside of a star and with rune-like designs circling it.  It was the Night Faction emblem, like the one on the top of his back with the spiral background, or like on Scott's ankle with an inverted heart design.  Stiles had stuck his right on his heart.

"Isaac did the design for me, like everyone else's.  He said that you guys get them when you're in the sixth grade, and it's supposed to be a moon alongside like a unique design that says something about you.  So apparently Isaac picked out runes from your town books that stand for "human", "love", "mate" and "belong".  The star is an emblem that binds them all together with the Night Faction, which is...  My whole life now," Stiles said, touching the solid black ink.

Derek chuckled, pulling Stiles close and touching the mark.  "You do realize the cultural significance, right?" he asked, hoping this wasn't like the assholes that got tribal tattoos because they looked cool.  He knew Stiles wasn't one of those people, but then again, that mark meant a LOT to everyone in the town.  It wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Stiles nodded.  "It means I belong to the night faction, and that the night faction belongs to me.  We're family, we're all bound by our souls, and this mark shows this town where our loyalties lie.  That above anyone else, I've dedicated my life to this group," he said, snagging Derek's hand and placing it right on his mark.  "I am.  That's my life now.  Got it?" he asked, rubbing his promise ring on Derek's hand.

"All right then," Derek said, pressing a kiss on Stiles' mark.  "Though you didn't have to get marked to feel that way.  We knew," he explained.

"Which is why it's for US," Stiles said, laughing.  "Because maybe I wanted to feel that way and make you know I felt that way.  I like tattoos, and they mean something special to me," he said, stepping away from Derek and patting the one above his groin as well.  "Your gift is over here," he said, moving to his desk that had been used as a gun table, and pulling open a drawer at the bottom.  He retrieved a box, about the size of an apple, and chucked it at Derek.  "Kind of anticlimactic NOW, but what the hell, open it up.

Derek unwrapped the flawlessly wrapped gift, which was...  Another wrapped box.  Which he unwrapped, only to reveal...  Another wrapped box.  

"Why am I not surprised?" Derek asked, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up and love me!" Stiles said, moving back to his mate and watching him unwrap the very last wrapped box in a series of wrapped boxes, pulling out a tiny black box.  Derek opened the top lid, revealing...

A ring.  A silver ring.  

While the outside was plain with a thin gold outline, and very much something he'd wear, Derek bore his eyes on the inscription inside that only he would ever see, written above a rose with falling petals.  

To Derek, with my truest love always, curse be damned.  - Stiles.

"Motherfucker, you beat me to it by MINUTES.  I found that promise ring to fit on your fucking MASSIVE MAN SAUSAGE MEAT FINGERS, and you beat me to the fucking punch by MINUTES.  ASSHOLE.  You have NO CONSIDERATION," Stiles said, playfully shoving Derek on the shoulder while he pouted.

Derek laughed, immediately throwing the ring on his left hand, putting his arm around Stiles and mashing their mouths together as he flung them both on the bed.

  
++++++

Matt glanced up from the Sun Faction's outdated Faction Headquarters.  In a run-down building about the size of a laundry mat, mismatching tables and chairs held the 20 or so members of the faction.  Mostly older men, like his father, made up the group, and most of them were hate-filled zealots.  He couldn't stand the sun faction, but it was all he could do.  If he'd gone to the Night or Star factions, he'd be killed by his father or his little sisters would end up the targets of his insanity.  The Beast Faction?  Well, they were an option, but Matt wanted to cling to his humanity too much.  

In the end, he just had to put up appearances for a few more years, for his dad's dumb ass.  When he turned 18, he could do what he wanted.  He'd probably go independent, or join the Night Faction if they'd have him.  

"He's LEAVING.  It's the perfect time to strike.  We can't kill him in the town, too many goddamn witnesses," Mr. Dunbar yelled, slamming his fist on a tale.

Matt turned his attention back up, hearing the latest "plan" on getting Stiles and Derek separated.  Because based on the progression of their relationship, they were going to break the curse any day now.  Matt saw Liam, Mr. Dunbar's son, nearly vomit as the words left his father's mouth.

"We're not safe until he's dead," another male quipped.

"EVERYTHING we've ever wanted will be RUINED by this skinny faggot.  Do we REALLY want to be a weak little human again?  NO," a woman spat.

Mr. Dahler rose up his hand.  "Now now...  We don't have to KILL him.  All we have to do is grab him and stuff him somewhere until the deadline is reached.  A far better solution than incurring the wrath of the McCalls.  They have enough Allies to ruin us," he offered.

Loud screams of protest erupted as yet ANOTHER loud set of arguments about what to do about "the human" began getting thrown around the room.

Though while the adults went on and on about what to do, Matt noticed little Liam Dunbar backing away slowly, and eventually sneaking out of the headquarters, and darting down the blacktop road that led to the city limits.  The boy was in mid-shift, shredding out of his clothes as his four tiny legs began running as fast as they could.

Matt just smirked, glancing away, knowing that the boy would probably make it in time.  

Probably.  


	20. Chapter 20

Derek had to resist the urge to scream.  Though if it was out of joy or rage, he wasn't sure.

The house of John Stilinski's sister, Gertrude, was like living inside of a pink Hostess snowball.  From head to toe, from the carpeting to the wallpaper, and the rose-tinted artwork on the walls, everything was just so...

Pink.

Then were the goddamn cats.  True to Stiles' word, Aunt Gertrude actually did have an obsession with the stupid things.  What she'd FAILED to tell them, however, was that she had acquired a total of 30, fostering most of them for the local animal shelter.

It was bad enough that Derek's nose could smell cat piss and shit with each nostril-full of air, but his inner beast seemed to just ATTRACT the little bastards.

Especially right then, as ten of them were laying on his stomach, arms, and one fat orange tabby on his head.

Which of course, Stiles immediately took various pictures of and sent to their friends and family back home.

"I've never seen my darlings so attracted to anyone before!  You must be one special young man!" Aunt Gertrude said, cackling from the direction of the kitchen.  

Derek glanced up, and really couldn't help but smile at the old batty woman.  She was mildly plump in her older age, a full ten years John's senior.  Her soft grey hair was done up in a bob, accenting her slowly forming wrinkles.

"No...  I'm not all that special," Derek said, gently petting a white cat to his right.  The cat in question was playing with the discarded wrapping paper from the gift exchange.  Derek was surprised that he'd gotten something, a handful of historical novels focusing on World War II.  He'd definitely have reading material for the rest of their trip.

"Oh sweetheart, they say that animals can sense our souls.  I work at a preserve my great great great great grandmother started years ago, and you wouldn't believe the things can sense. Weather, people, a viable candidate for congress..  You know, everything!" Gertrude called out, moving quietly back to the living area.  Bearing a tray of coffee, tea, and a wide variety of cookies, Gertrude made herself comfortable on the end of the couch.  She passed a cup of tea to Derek, who sniffed it curiously.

"Decaffeinated?" Derek asked quietly.  

Gertrude nodded.  "You struck me as the kind of man who isn't a caffeine addict.  Not unlike my nephew here, who downs it like he's on an IV drip," she remarked quietly.  

"Shaddup," Stiles said, snagging a cup of coffee from the tray, as well as three or four cookies.  He made a fake hissing sound, which quickly scattered the cats all around the house.  

Several began making their way to Claudia, immediately shunned away as Ethan growled at them.  They hissed back, going off to prowl elsewhere.

"OH, I just love you Ethan!  Keep those mangy cats away from me and you are getting the BIGGEST steak EVER when we get back" Claudia shouted, pressing a chaste kiss atop Ethan's head.  She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly against her chest.    Ethan hugged back, throwing his paws around Claudia's head.

Derek chuckled.  Honestly, Ethan might as well have been a Stilinski the way Claudia treated him.  He was another son.  Another son she could have never have on her own, and Derek wasn't stupid.  She definitely had come to love Ethan, and he had no doubt that the wolf would be moving in and protecting his parents and family long after Stiles left to start his life with him.  Whatever had led him to live with the beast faction was slowly falling behind him.

"Where on earth did you find such a large dog?  I swear, it looks more like a wolf than a husky!" Gertrude said, taking her own cup of tea and sipping it quietly.  "Never been a fan of dogs.  Nobody in my family has, really...  Smelly things," she muttered quietly.

Claudia and Ethan shared a painful gasp.  

"He is NOT just a dog, he is our FAMILY," Claudia said, turning to him and smiling.  "Isn't that right Ethan?" she asked.

A single bark from Ethan seemed to confirm that.

Gertrude smiled.  "Well, I understand.  I love my dearies as well. He must really mean a lot to you," she said, running her hand through one of her many cats.

Claudia smiled.  "He's like another son.  Another baby God brought me, just like Stiles," she said, pressing a gentle kiss on Ethan's furry head.  

"GERTRUDE, I'M BURNING THINGS.  HELP," John yelled from the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Gertrude sighed.  "I swear that man is hopeless.  I don't know HOW you put up with him," she groaned, rushing off to help save dinner.

Laughing, Derek shook his head, putting the teacup up to his mouth.  As he did, an odd lump started forming in his chest.  Nothing painful, more like a pocket of gas.  Though it was annoying, and he started hitting his head.  

"So mom, we're leaving tomorrow at noon, right?  I'd like to get to Aunt Faye's early enough to go show Derek the sights.  San Francisco is so AWESOME.  You've got to...  Are you constipated?" Stiles asked.

Derek cleared his throat, thumping his chest, as the bubble grew larger and larger.  Something was stuck, thumping.  For a lesser being, he'd wonder if it was a heart attack.  

"Something wrong?" Stiles asked, putting down teacup next to Derek's spot on the coffee table.

Hitting his chest as hard as he could, Derek cleared his throat.  "Something's hurting...  Like..  Right here," he said, massaging the region next to his heart.  

Stiles glanced back and forth, watching as Aunt Gertrude was still busily scraping off the burnt parts of dinner with his father.  Ethan and Claudia were busy in their own world, fighting off the evil feline forces that gathered around them.

"Should you go shift?  That generates healing, right?" Stiles asked cautiously.  

Derek nodded.  "This is definitely odd.  Come with me to keep watch..." he said, standing up and following close behind Stiles, who guided him through the small one-story home.  

Stiles led Derek into the restroom, and slowly heard his mate shucking off his clothing.  Soon after, the all too familiar cracking of bones and shifting muscles replaced it.  He still didn't understand how that process didn't hurt, but Derek and the others always assured him it was more like a numbing sensation.  Thank God he wasn't a wolf, he didn't know how he'd handle that.

"All good?" Stiles asked, once the cracks and breaks finally ceased.  

A low bark on the other side seemed to say as much.  Stiles took a deep breath, made sure Aunt Gertrude wasn't coming, and joined his mate.

Stiles snorted as he entered the room, as pink and fluffy as always, with enough perfume and bath products lined out on the bathroom sink to take down an elephant.  Then, naturally, was his black wolf Derek, standing out like crazy.

"Are you feeling better?" Stiles said, leaning down and holding his mate's wolf face.

Derek nodded, sighing peacefully.  He glanced to his chest.  

"What was that?" Stiles asked, putting his hand atop where a dog's heart would otherwise be.  It was beating a little irregularly, but much better than earlier.

Shrugging, Derek just rested his head on Stiles' shoulder.  A low whine escaped Derek's throat, alongside more loud thumping.  

"Hey...  I'm here," Stiles said, huffing as he bumped heads with his mate.

Laying there with Derek, the thumping and accelerated heart rate lasted around five minutes.  Somewhere in that time period, even Ethan had to come in for a few moments, alongside a very flustered Claudia.  

Claudia placed warm washcloths on each of their heads, as they both shivered.  

Though as quickly as it started, the pain subsided.  Derek shifted back as Claudia turned away, and Ethan's tail even began wagging happily.  

"What was that?" Claudia asked, changing looks between Derek and Ethan for answers.

Stiles huffed worryingly, helping wipe the last beads of sweat off of Derek's head.  "Do wolves have heart issues?  Like is this a thing that happens?" he asked.

Derek shook his head.  "Never felt anything like this before...  Maybe it has to do with the full moon..  I'll call my mother tonight and ask her, she-" he said, cutting himself off.  "Actually, that will have to wait.  Mom and Scott are with Peter's family out in the mountains.  They won't have cell service," he said, turning to Claudia, who looked panic-stricken from that news..  "I wouldn't worry Mrs. Stilinski, it's probably nothing.  Weird stuff happens to us all the time," he offered.

Turning to Ethan, she gave him a cold stare.  "Is it really nothing?" she asked cautiously.

With a low bow of his head, Ethan nodded quietly.

"You promise me?" Claudia said, baring her "mom" eyes at Ethan and Derek.  Stiles flinched instinctively.

"Yes Mrs. Stilinski, we promise," they both answered simultaneously.

Bending down, Claudia threw her arms around Ethan and Derek's necks.  "Don't you lie to me, I couldn't stand losing EITHER of you," she exclaimed.

Ethan slowly shut his eyes, resting his head on Claudia's shoulder.  

_

Claudia was grateful that John and Gertrude had gone to the family cemetery to lay some flowers out.  It allowed her to adequately fret in peace.  

Seeing Ethan cringe in pain had been enough, but to see Derek practically laid out on the bathroom floor had been too much.  She knew medically there was nothing she could do, with their bodies being far more complicated than a human's.  In fact, most of her work at the ER had to be directed by Melissa or another doctor.  She had the skills and accuracy, they had the know-how.  

Sighing, Claudia just shook it off.  Worse comes to to worse, she knew they could shift and heal.  Even if they were having a heart attack (unlikely, given their general health), they could stall it quite easily.  

None of that really made her feel better though.  

Sighing, Claudia tried to focus on picking up the gifts they'd all left around the house.  

Left to her own devices, Claudia glanced around, making eye contact with Derek as she started cleaning up.  "Where's Stiles?  Did he and Ethan go for a walk?  Was he feeling okay?" she asked quietly.

Derek smirked.  "No..  They're getting your Christmas present from Ethan ready," he answered.

Scoffing, Claudia shook her head.  "I told them not to get me anything.  Goodness..." she said, laughing quietly.

"Well, it's not so much a thing as it is a...  Oh hell, I'll let you see for yourself," Derek said, moving back down to reading his history book.  

Claudia was surprised to find that Derek read more than Stiles did, with the man DEVOURING the book like it was a stack of pancakes.  

Not thinking about her upcoming gift too hard, Claudia made herself busy picking up the mess around Gertrude's house.  The wrapping paper was thrown in a pile in the middle of the room, while she deliberately tried not to plot the grand plan of drop kicking the cats who kept attacking her feet.  

"Stupid cats," Claudia grumbled.  She had no idea what people saw in the mangy creatures, especially Gertrude.  The woman had worked in the Lilyvale wildlife preserve for decades, inheriting it from John's mother and father.  She dealt with wolves and all other kinds of vicious wildlife, Claudia would think that cats would be...  Boring.

Though her thought process was interrupted, however, as she felt Stiles... Plotting.  It was her own mother's intuition.

"Stiles...?" Claudia asked, turning her head up.

Sure enough, Stiles was hovering in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a dorky smile.  

"What are you planning?" Claudia asked, eyeing him cautiously.  When Stiles smiled, nobody was safe.  

Stiles eyed Derek, stepped out of the hallway and said nothing.  

Claudia glanced up, dropping the scarf that Aunt Gertrude had purchased her.  Her mouth gaped, and she slowly stood up.

Stepping in Stiles's place was a man, probably an inch or two taller than Derek, with recently buzzed hair.  His skin was rugged, cracked, and well worn.  He was muscular, but lacked any real definition, with his bones jetted out in places they shouldn't have been.  One of Derek's sweaters had been crammed on his body, with a pair of rugged jeans.  He was barefoot, with some of the largest toenails she'd ever seen.

Then there were his eyes.  The honey-gold eyes she'd only seen on one other person in her life.

"Mom, I'd like for you to meet Ethan, sans claws and paws.  He wanted to get you something for Christmas, and this is what he and I thought you'd like better than anything.  Dad said he'd keep Gertrude out for a while so you two can...  Well, get to know each other better," Stiles said, signaling to the man beside him.

While Ethan looked away embarrassingly, Stiltes made himself comfortable on Derek's lap.  

"Ethan..  Why don't you tell Mrs. Stilinski about yourself?" Derek asked, putting down his book.

Nodding, Ethan took a deep breath, folding his arms while he ran his toenails against the pink carpeting.  The many cats around the region began hovering around Ethan, rubbing their bodies against him.

"I hid as a beast...  For...  10 years.  This is the first I've been human in...  10 years...  I..  Sorry, Words are hard to talk," Ethan said, finding it difficult to pronounce even the simplest words.  He clutched his throat, with a dull ache.

Claudia stepped forward, halfway tripping over the discarded boxes and wrapping paper.  

"My twin and I...  We...  We never had a family.  Just foster families here in Beacon Hills, who...  Who were... Not nice," Ethan said, choking up over pronouncing the words.  He massaged his throat, while Derek smiled supportively.

"The Beast Faction takes in orphans and abused children most often.  They come and offer the freedom of living without rules and regulations, a pretty solid offer for young kids living in situations like Ethan.  It's the second biggest faction in Beacon Hills," Derek explained.

Ethan smiled fondly.  "They are good to us.  Aiden and I were happy.  Deucalion was our new father, and we had many brothers and sisters.  Fun," he offered.

Claudia reached Ethan, putting her arms on his shoulder.  "Sweetheart, I..." she whispered, her eyes barely reaching his chest.  She couldn't find the words.

"Then I came here.  Deucalion wanted me to ask Stiles to join us.  Then I met Stiles and became his friend.  Then I lived with you.  You and I were...  I felt good with you.  You and Mr. Stilinski.  I was home.  You gave me a room.  You gave me love.  I...  I didn't feel like me anymore.  The old me, the wolf.  Gone," he said, gulping quietly.  Ethan was clearly embarrassed at his Tarzan-like speaking patterns.

Stiles laughed.  "He told Derek that he's leaving the Beast Faction and joining us.  Ethan wants to slowly reintegrate into society and be human again so he can be around everyone again.   But to do that, he'd have to have a home and a place where he could study and get back into high school, not having any education since the sixth grade.  I told him that there was a certain mother that would probably have no issue with that, and maybe give me and Derek a few years without her whining for a.grandchild," he said, in an attempt to break the tension.

"Yes!  Oh sweetheart, yes." Claudia announced, hugging Ethan tightly.  "You aren't going anywhere mister!  Dog or human, you're my sweetheart Ethan, and you are a member of the Stilinski family!  Welcome home!" She shouted.

Derek and Stiles exchanged a happy smirk, followed by a kiss.  "I think she likes her gift," Derek said.

"Yep.  Hell, I liked it too.  I always wanted a little brother," Stiles said quietly.

"You realize he can crush you and could quite literally fit three of you in him?" Derek asked.

Stiles rolled his eyes. 

Claudia released her firm hug, plopping down and sharing a happy look with Ethan.

"Hi...  Mom," Ethan whispered.

Claudia stammered, unable to hold back a happy grin.

"That is...  If you'll....  Have me?" Ethan said, glancing away.  The wolf was worried.

Claudia was squeezing Ethan as tightly as she could.  Tears ran down her face, as she sobbed into his chest.

"Hello...  Son," Claudia said right back in an equal joy.

_

The Stilinski family had lived in Lilyvale for decades, if not centuries.  So naturally, a good third of the local Lilyvale cemetery was blocked off for the Stilinskis.  With two bouquets of flowers, John followed behind Gertrude, who was leading the pack.

John let out a deep breath, fogging up from the cold.  "Gertrude...  Remember about five months ago, when I asked where I should take my family after Stiles' accident?" he asked.

Gertrude nodded, as they stopped by a clean gravesite.  Wilted flowers laid, curled up into nothing but death.  "Of course.  Stiles has really grown up since then, hasn't he?" she asked, bending down, and wiping away the vines and dead flowers that laid on her mother's grave.  

Handing his sister the bouquets, John fidgeted with his feet.  "You personally recommended Beacon Hills.  What made you pick that town out of anywhere?" he asked curiously.

Gertrude laughed quietly, placing the gorgeous bouquet of roses over a gravesite.  "Oh I thought I heard it from an old friend who raved about.  Said it was lovely countryside teeming with wildlife.  At least, at some point," she said, shaking her head.  "Do you not enjoy it there?"

"No, it's not that.  Hell it's been great for Stiles, I just...  of all the places in the world..." John stammered, glancing away.

"John, deary, do you mind taking this other bouquet to Mimi's grave?  I want to clean up this side of the family graves.  We can talk about pointless things later, if you don't mind," Gertrude requested, humming quietly to herself.

Nodding, John shook off his line of questioning, grabbing the other bouquet and heading off.  He knew better than to snark his big sister.  

Left alone, Gertrude patted her mother's grave quietly with her hand.  "Oh mother...  You'd be so proud of your little Stiles.  He found such a nice young man to be his boyfriend, and from what Claudia says, Stiles' grades are remarkable.  He's scored near perfect on his SAT, and has lots of friends now that love him," she said with a playful smile.  

The cold wind blew silently, as Gertrude's face fell.  

"Excuse me for a moment mother, the attention hog needs me," Gertrude whispered, getting up with a loud crack in her bones.  "Oh dear...  I'm getting too old for this," she mumbled.

Following the path of the wind, Gertrude made her way to the farthest area of the cemetery, passing an odd look from her brother.  

The oldest, most mold and moss covered headstone was where the wind ended, just below a long-since dead tree.  Leaves and blossoms hadn't grown as long as Gertrude had been alive.  

She bent down, sighing as she began wiping away at the grime.

"Sweetheart, you can rest easy now..." Gertrude said, leaning over and slowly revealing the name she'd been trying to clean.

 

_"Kaitlyn Alar Reed-Stilinski_

_Mother.  Lover.  Wife.  Friend._

_Her heart was long gone from this world, but never forgotten.  May she one day find peace."_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the end of this story, and I'm already plotting my next series. What would you like to see? Cheerleading verse? A military school verse? A post-nogistune verse? Or do you have your own suggestions? Let me know in the comments!


	21. Chapter 21

With Ethan as a human, there was SO much being shared between Claudia and the past-wolf.  

Claudia told him all about the Pelsor family, her maiden family she'd been born into, as well as the Stilinski  family, who'd moved to Lilyvale around the time of the civil war.  She also forbade him to be a wolf while they went to see her family in San Francisco, and was more than ready to introduce him as her son to the family.  "They're going to feed you till you pop, and you better eat EVERYTHING, you're too skinny!" as she was content to say.

Ethan was totally manly about that fact and didn't cry even a tear.  At least, Derek pretended that was what happened, and if anyone asked him about that, that was his answer.  Knowing what Ethan had been through all his life, only to have someone as wonderful as Mrs. Stilinski show him genuine affection and love?  The kind of true love that only a mother could give?  Well, a few tears was expected.  

Eventually, they drifted into Derek and Stiles' shared room, where she was eagerly plotting on what to buy him for clothes, hoping to get an accurate measurement.  

Apparently there were plenty of shopping malls in San Francisco, and from the online research, Derek had no idea how they were all going to handle so many people out there.  Coming from a town of 1000 to 2000 max, and going into a place with HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS?  Yikes.

Stiles was off in the kitchen, fixing everyone mugs of hot chocolate for a movie night, where they'd hopefully have one last hurrah in Lilyvale before heading off to San Francisco.

Even though they'd just been around Aunt Gertrude's house, a diner, and a few gas stations, it was amazing to finally be somewhere that wasn't Beacon Hills.  Derek was sad to see their time end.  Honestly, he was already wondering if he might get Peter to take him somewhere out of the country.  He'd taken Scott to Mexico the previous year, and it might be a good "bonding" experience.  

Sighing happily at the thought of doing something fun, Derek was deep in his book, still blanketed in cats all over him (he'd come to "tolerate" the fuzz butts), already three fourths done when he heard a knock at the door.  He rose up his head, wondering who it was.

"Derek, can you get that please?  It's probably dad and Gertrude back from the cemetery. Aunt Gert always forgets her keys, I'm pretty sure she's sending the local locksmith's kid to college," Stiles asked, from the kitchen.

Nodding, Derek hopped off the couch (to the disappointment of MANY resting cats) and quickly made his way to the front door.  He swung it open and was met with a towering man in height and muscle.  Honestly, he was about the same size as Derek with a little less muscle tone, but was definitely a human.  He had a pink streak in the front of his black hair, and wore a rather sharp looking kelly green sweater and Lucky Jeans.

"Can I help you?" Derek asked, not sure who the stranger was.

The man cleared his throat, a little nervously.  "I'm looking for Stiles?  I hear he was here visiting his Aunt, so I was hoping to catch him before he went back home," he asked.

Derek nodded.  "That's correct.  Are you a friend?" he asked, suddenly very cautious.  Stiles never talked about his past.  The only friend Stiles actually talked about was a woman named Kira, who still Skyped with Stiles pretty much every weekend.  Besides that though, Stiles kept his life in Lilyvale a tight-lipped secret.  Derek definitely understood WHY, but it still hurt not knowing things about his mate.  Still, he trusted that Stiles would tell him some day.

"I was, yes," he said, fidgeting.  "May I..  May I come in and see him?" he asked.

"Just a moment, let me check.  STILES," he called out.  He didn't figure it would be a problem, but then again, Stiles had some shitty friends if his injuries from way back when was any indication.  

"Coming sweetcheeks!" Stiles exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear with a tray full of mugs.  "You and me are totally snuggling during the movie, planning where we're going while we're in San Fran, and then we're-"

In one slow movement, Derek watched Stiles drop the tray, catching it at the last second as a look of horror covered his face.  

Derek turned back and forth, glaring in between both men.  Stiles was in a mixture of fuming and fear.  Derek Eventually stared at the stranger.  "What's your name?" he asked.

"Vincent..  My name is Vincent Gasten.  I'm Stiles' ex-boyfriend," he admitted quietly.

Stiles held up both of his hands after carefully putting his tray down on the coffee table.  Vincent was WAY too close to Derek for his own safety.  He was scared that there was going to be a repeat of that day so freaking long ago.  Fists, blood, and broken bones.

That fucking awful day.

-

_(August, Earlier that Year)_

_Stiles rubbed his hands over his chest for the seven thousandth time since the scars had healed.  He smiled giddily.  NO MORE BINDERS.  No more sweating like a fucking freight train in the summers with the extra layer of clothing._

_Even better?  The Lilyvale School district had FINALLY given him a male uniform for school.  It had taken a hell of a lot of bribing from his mother, and mild threats from his father, but they'd supported Stiles in his decision to identify as a male.  Slacks, a button up, tie, and a sport coat all in black and red.  He'd practically shaved his head off, leaving only a little bit of hair, like a military-style cut.  There would be NO mistaking who he was._

_He was Stiles Stilinski.  Stephanie wasn't dead, she'd never really be dead, but she'd been reborn into Stiles.  He felt RIGHT.  He felt EXCITED._

_Which is why he looked up into Vincent's eyes so eagerly, letting his boyfriend finally see how he felt on the inside.  Grabbing his boyfriend first thing that morning, he'd shoved them both into a vacant classroom on the third floor to talk privately._

_Vincent was beaming from ear to ear.  "Stiles...  Goddamn, you look amazing," he said, throwing his arms around Stiles and pressing a kiss into his mouth._

_"I know, right?" Stiles said, beaming brightly.  He turned around, spinning as his coat twirled.  "God this is awesome...  Sorry to say, but Kira was the first lady to see the new Stiles Stilinski.  I can't wait to show the other gang.  Fucking STEVE owes me 50 bucks, I TOLD him I'd go through with it!  Ready to go show the rest of the gang?  I'm DYING to let them eat their fucking words," he said, with a vicious smirk._

_"So ummm..  Awkward question here, but uh...  We do need to talk," Vincent said, losing his smile as he glanced away embarrassingly._

_"What?" Stiles asked._

_Sighing, Vincent shook his head.  "Well, I mean..  Everyone's going to see you and know you're a guy.  That kind of...  Well, that makes me look gay," he said._

_"You are gay," Stiles said, folding his arms.  "But why does it matter?  I didn't change as a person, I just changed how I dress and act," he said._

_Laughing, Vincent shook his head.  "Listen, I'm on the football team training to be a quarterback.  There is no fucking way they'll let me be in peace in the locker room if I'm dating you," he said, patting Stiles on the shoulder.  "But I mean...  It doesn't change anything, right?  I've always been in the closet.  We'll just have to be a little more...  Private," he explained._

_Stiles' face skewed.  "Well, no...  It does change things.  You were fine dating me when I still passed as a girl.  But now that I'm a guy, you...  You don't want people to know we're dating?" he asked._

_"No!" Vincent said, putting his arms around STiles and pulling him closer.  "No no no...  This isn't about you, it's about me.   I just don't' want people thinking I'm with a guy, or with..  You know, someone who's transgender.  You know how people can be.  They'd be awful to both of us," he answered._

_"So you'll date me, but only if I keep us a secret?  Gee, should I wear a wig to make you more comfortable?  Maybe the haircut and uniform was a bad decision for us?" Stiles asked sarcastically, pushing away Vincent.  "Seriously, you choose TODAY of all days to tell me this?  Fucking TODAY.  I've been waiting a YEAR for my birthday and TWO years for my psychiatrist and mother to to agree I was ready for the top surgery," he spat, shaking his head._

_"Stiles, I CAN'T BE OUT.  Do you know what my father would do to me?  He would MURDER me.  I can't deal with this!  Can you just...  Just keep us a secret?  For us?" Vincent begged._

_Shaking his head wildly, Stiles just scoffed.  "You want me to HIDE.  You want ME to HIDE," he said, frowning.  He was borderline furious._

_"STILES!  Enough!  Why are we fighting?  This is a happy day for you, let's not do this," Vincent answered, trying to take Stiles' hand again.  "Come on.  We'll slide through today, and then you, me and Kira will go out for dinner to celebrate," he said, trying to smile._

_Moving away, Stiles sighed.  "You know...  I should have seen this coming.  I was stupid," he said, huffing.  "The way you break any and all contact when we're in public?  How you've never let me meet your father unless my hair's long or I'm wearing something moderately girly?  Not to mention how you just DITCH me if anyone so much as says a single thing about you being with a guy?  I..  I should have known," he said quietly.  Stiles moved forward, throwing a hug around Vincent's neck.  "Vincent, I can't do this.  I can't be with you like this," he said, sighing quietly._

_Vincent lost all color in his face.  "Stiles...  Are you telling me I have to come out?" he said, practically trembling._

_Stiles let go of Vincent, stepping away.  "Vincent, I would never ask you to come out before you're ready.  That would be like someone telling me when I was ready to have my surgery, that's a personal matter.  I love you, in your own crazy little way," he said, dropping his head._

_"Th...  Thank you," Vincent said, sighing in relief as he moved to put his arms around Stiles._

_Holding his hand up, Stiles stopped him.  "But...  I've spent my whole life in a goddamn closet.  I've waited my whole life waiting for this day, when I could actually start being FULLY me.  I'm not going to be romantic with someone who wants to put me back in one," he said, trying to maintain a brave facade._

_"What?" Vincent asked, as his mouth gaped._

_Stiles moved backwards.  "I'm breaking up with you.  I mean, I'm not about to find someone else, but...  I need this time for ME, and I think you need some time for yourself too.  It'd be one thing if you weren't wanting to hide me, but...  You do, and I'm not okay with that," he said bluntly._

_Then tension in the air thickened.  Vincent's color returned, darkening into a red._

_Vincent trembled.  "You... You can't...  Stiles, you're the only person in the WORLD who knows about us.  Who understands WHY I love you.  Everyone thinks you're my GIRLFRIEND, and you could ride through high school EASY.  BOTH of us could get through high school easily.  Why would you take that away from me?  Why would you take that away from US?" he sobbed._

_Wiping away a tear, Stiles shook his head, holding firm.  "I'm not taking away anything from you.  This is what you want Vincent.  You want to lock away who you are from the world, and lock me in there with you.  I'll support you, no matter what.  But I've got to do what's best for ME.  If you ever decide that you're not ashamed of me and you being together?  I'll be waiting," he said, turning his back on Vincent and making his way to the vacant classroom's front desk.  He grabbed his bag, clutching it tightly._

_"Vin, I know you've had a rough life.  You have a dad that beats the shit out of you when you don't do what he wants, and he's got you scared to death of being who you are.  I've tried since we were in the sandbox to get you to find help.  The cops, MY FUCKING DAD THE SHERIFF, and my family have told you for YEARS that we'd take you in," he said, crestfallen.  "I'll never stop trying to help you get out of that shit shack.  I'm just not getting locked in there with you," he said, reaching out for the door knob._

_Vincent bared his teeth.  "You're insane.  You should be like ME!  You think anyone out there is ever going to want to be with you like I do?  Stiles, you like GUYS.  You think a guy is going to want to be with you and your fucking VAGINA," he spat.  He stormed after Stiles, blocking off the front door.  "Nobody, and I mean NOBODY is ever going to understand you like I do.  We're lucky to have each other Stiles, and you just want to throw all of that away?  You're insane Stiles..." he yelled._

_"Excuse me?" Stiles said, stepping away from Vincent's grandstanding.  Speaking frankly, he was getting pissed at this point.  He knew Vin had a temper with other people, but he'd never been on the receiving end.  Still, there was NO need for him to be rude like that._

_"Get real Stiles...  This is the way the world works, I'm just being a realist.  Unless you're straight and cis, nobody will ever treat us right.  We've got each other.  Why does anyone else need to know our business, and why would we even NEED anyone else?" Vincent said, stepping forward and trying to touch Stiles' on the face._

_Stiles slapped his hand away, clearly furious.  "Maybe you're right.  Maybe I'll never meet anyone who will understand.  But you know what?  I made that decision when I decided to chop my breasts off and come out as a guy.  I KNEW I'd be looked at differently, but you know what?  In the end, I want to be happy with who I am and hope that I'll find people like my mom and dad who love me for who I am.  I USED to think you were up there with them, but apparently I was wrong, and you sure as hell made that obvious today," he said.  Stiles took a deep breath, putting on a brave smile.  "I choose to believe that I'll be accepted.  I choose to have faith in mankind, and have faith that people are changing.  And if they don't?  Well, then I'll surround my life with the few people that do, and not worry what the world things.  Fuck them," he explained in a finality._

_Vincent curled his hand into a fist, shaking._

_"I won't be trapped with you in the hole, afraid of what people think.  Maybe you're the best I'll ever get, but you know what?" Stiles said, glaring right in Vincent's eyes.  "I deserve better.  Hell, YOU deserve better.  Your father fucked you up worse than I thought," he said, shaking his head._

_Vincent grabbed Stiles' hand, holding it tightly.  "You can't do this to me...  Stiles...  How long have we known each other?  We've been through EVERYTHING," he shouted.  He was crying harder than Stiles was._

_Reaching up, Stiles put his hands on Vincent's.  He managed to smile weakly.  "I'll always be your friend.  I just..  I can't be your lover if you're going to be be ashamed of me being a man and you being ashamed of loving me.  I want someone who's going to take me out, kiss me in public, and let everyone know that we're...  Something.  I want RESPECT, Vincent," he said, sighing quietly.  "We can be friends Vincent.  I'll never leave your side like that, but...  I don't think I can love you like you are right now," he said, letting go of Vincent's hand._

_Glancing away, Stiles tried to move past Vincent and make his way to the door.  However, a painful grip on both of his shoulders stopped him._

_"Nobody says NO to GASTEN," Vincent screamed, slamming Stiles into the classroom wall and pinning him against it._

_Stiles struggled, kicking and punching at his ex.  The asshole was actually HURTING him, gripping his shoulders like a vicegrip.  "LET GO OF ME!" he spat, landing a kick square onto Vincent's balls._

_Vincent stammered backwards, groaning in pain.  He moved forward and then threw back a fist, slamming it into Stiles' nose._

_Yelping, Stiles felt his nose, where the blood was trickling out of his nostril.  The whole thing was sore, if not fractured.  "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?  WHY'D YOU HIT ME?" he screeched._

_"YOU STUPID FUCKER...  Calm down and LISTEN TO ME.  I'm trying to SAVE YOU.  Everyone in town thinks you're fucked up odd weirdo outcast anyway.  I'm giving you an OUT," Vin yelled, palming his now very sore balls._

_"Are you CRAZY?  What the fuck are you doing HITTING ME?  THAT'S HOW YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?" Stiles shouted, picking up his bag and slinging it over his uniform.  He touched his face, feeling where Vincent's fist had started bruising his skin.  "Seriously, you're INSANE.  Don't even talk to me today, I don't want to see you," he spat, throwing open the door and exiting outside.  Several of his classmates looked at him curiously._

_"Is that Stephie?"_

_"Holy fuck, that IS."_

_Ignoring the snickering and laughter that he was getting (which he knew he'd probably get from a close minded private school), Stiles made a beeline for the staircase.  There was no way he was staying.  He was calling Kira, they were going out for lunch, and skipping school._

_At least, he thought he was, until he felt Vincent gripping him by the shoulders._

_"We're not done," Vin spat._

_Vincent flung Stiles into the set of lockers with all the strength he could muster, leaving a dent where Stiles' body landed.  Stiles struggled to get back up.  His back hurt from the metal striking it, and the scars on his chest were burning from where he'd thudded on the tile floor._

_Looking up, Stiles met the glares of his friends and classmates.  They all recognized him, yet..  None of them were moving.  They just sat and stared.  A few of them were still laughing._

_LAUGHING._

_"Get up.  I'm going to talk some fucking sense into you," Vincent shouted, pulling Stiles up to his feet.  His eyes were blown out, and Stiles was genuinely afraid of the man.  If he was smart, he'd let Vincent be an ass, lie about being in the closet with him, and go to his father after school._

_Still, Stiles never said he was a smart man._

_"You're a bitch.  A fucking pansy-ass bitch with Daddy issues," Stiles spat loudly enough for everyone to hear._

_The circle of onlookers let out a loud gasp, several people laughing and pointing at Vincent._

_Vincent reared back and slammed his fist into Stiles' stomach, forcing him to double over in pain.  He fell down to the ground, held up by Vincent's hands._

_It was then that Stiles saw it._

_The fight had shifted Vin's uniform, where a small patch of his stomach was now visible._

_The patch Stiles could see was solid black.  It was the worst looking bruise Stiles had ever seen on Vin, including the broken arms.  The wound was so deep that Stiles knew it was bleeding internally.  It was clear that Mr. Gasten was escalating.  Stiles had seen enough case files at his father's office to know what was next._

_Vin saw that he saw.  They both shared a terrifying glance._

_Really, there was only one way he was getting through to Vin.  Then he was taking the asshole straight to his father.  They were going to make all of this right.  He'd fix it all._

_"You're just like your father.  Beating the shit out of whoever makes you feel inadequate.  That's what you are Vin.  You're your fucking father.  You SWORE to me that you'd never be him, but guess what?  You are.  You're treating me like he treated you," Stiles said, spitting in Vincent's face._

_THAT hit home.  Vincent's face dropped by a mile, and he let go of Stiles' shirt.  His boyfriend fell to the floor._

_"Stiles, I'm...  Stiles, I'm sor-" Vin said, trying reach for Stiles._

_When he did, Stiles tried to stand up to scamper away, only to fall, catching himself on his feet, but tripping clumsily.  He fell backwards, unable to really catch himself.  Backwards into the stairwell._

_Vincent threw his hand out to catch him, only to miss.  Rolling down the three story-long staircase, Stiles hit virtually every step, and the crack of his bones seemed to echo loudly._

_He landed on the bottom floor with a loud thud._

_Stiles was not getting up.  His breathing was labored, with his tiny chest raising up and down far too slowly to be normal._

_"Holy shit...  STILES!" a woman with flowing black hair and Asian features shrieked, shoving Vincent to the ground as she ran down the stairs.  Vincent shook off his shock and ran after her.  They reached the ground level, and the woman, Kira, was already grabbing her cell phone to call paramedics._

_Vincent just stared at what he'd done.  He twitched, watching blood pouring out of Stiles' forehead.  Shaking, he covered his mouth as a wave of nausea hit him._

**_ "You're just like your father.  Beating the shit out of whoever makes you feel inadequate.." _ **

****


	22. Chapter 22

Stiles shook his head, sipping his mug of chocolate.  The part of his life that he wanted long forgotten, the thing he never wanted anyone to know about.  Still, not like he could do much about it anymore.  

Really, it was all out in the open now.  Surprisingly enough though, he hadn't told Derek a thing.

VIN, of all people admitted to all of it.  He admitted it to Claudia, to Ethan, to Derek, and to Stiles. Of all the thing he could have said about Vin, he certainly had balls.  

He sat there, telling the story from his own perspective, leaving nothing out.

Everyone was deadly quietly.  Vin glanced up and stared at Claudia.  "I'm sorry.  I just saw red, freaked out about losing the only good thing in my life, and I...  Well fuck, you know the rest," he admitted, rubbing his forehead.   "I wish Mr. Stilinski was here, and I'd tell him to do whatever he wants with me.  I deserve it," he said.  Looking up, he faced Claudia eye-to-eye.  "Mrs. Stilinski...  I'm not going to argue, if you want to arrest me, press charges, or whatever?  I accept it," he admitted.

Taking a deep breath, Claudia stood up and put her mug down.  "I'm going to my bedroom for a bit, because I don't want to say or do something I regret later, which may or may not involve murder-arson.  However, I will say this," she spat, glaring daggers.  "I have never been more disappointed or angry at someone I thought was close to us.  You BETRAYED us, our trust, and nearly broke my son, and if I could, I would throw you to the wolves and let them deal with you," she said, glaring at Derek and Ethan, as the threat went way over Vin's head.

Vin bowed his head.  "I understand..." he answered quietly.

Claudia shook her head.  "Whether I forgive or forget this is all on Stiles.  This is his life, and I trust him to make the right decision.  Though don't ever expect to be invited in my home again, and I don't want to see your face ever again," she answered, turning around and stomping off to the bedroom hallways.

The men remaining in the room all cringed as Claudia's guest room door slammed shut.

"Mom is scary," Ethan muttered, drinking the last of his hot chocolate.  Stiles had warned him not to drink the chocolate-based drink, but apparently having the shits for a week thanks to his dog stomach  was worth the warm goodness. 

Stiles turned to Derek, and cringed.

Derek was glaring at Vincent.  His claws were out, thankfully hidden as Derek shoved them by Stiles' side.  He knew his mate was a hair trigger away from cutting the asshole's neck.  Though he was surprised what he did instead.

Instead, Derek turned to Ethan, taking a deep breath.  

"We let Stiles do?" Ethan asked, massaging his throat.

Derek nodded.  "Anything we can do to him, Stiles can do worse. But if he needs us, we're here," he said, standing up with Ethan in unison.  "Just so you know, If you think Claudia was scary, we're a hell of a lot scarier.  You hurt our friend?  You don't want to know what we'd do," he spat.

Ethan nodded, flashing his sharp teeth, which caused Vin to gape his mouth as the extra-sharp teeth that no other human had.

Stiles sighed, feeling a mixture of joy and pride knowing how much his friends cared.  "Thanks guys.  We're going for a walk, I'll howl if I need you guys, keep your ears nice and pointy.  Come on Vin," he said, putting his mug down.  

The two ex lovers stood up and walked out in unison, shutting Gertrude's bright pink door behind them.  

"So...  Who were they?  Your friends?" Vincent asked, as they started walking down the sidewalk path that connected all of Lilyvale together.  

Stiles nodded.  "Derek's my boyfriend, and we're already talking about pre-engagement.  Ethan is practically my brother, who's staying in our house since he doesn't have a family anymore.  I've got a couple of other friends, Jackson, Allison, Scott my SERIOUSLY best friend, and Lydia.  They really pulled me out of the funk you and the stupid school left me in.  Like seriously, dug me out of a horrible hole of depression and self-starvation.  Which was weird for me, given I've never been in that dark a spot before in my life," he said spitefully.  It was hard to forget Vin's horrible words.  Harder to forget the two month-bed rest.

Cringing, Vincent turned away.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry for everything," he spat out quickly.

"I don't want you back.  You're not getting me back.  Ever," Stiles said, trying to do the weird eyebrow thing that Derek managed to accomplish when he was mad.  "So if this is some attempt to get me back?  It's not going to work," he said angrily.

Vincent nodded.  "I know.  I did want you back at some point in the last couple of months, but...  I calmed down and figured you already had a new life.  Honestly, I...  I do just want to let you know how sorry I am.  That's all I wanted to say.  Well, that and...  Thank you.  You changed my life, forever," he said, fiddling with something on his wrist.

Stiles noticed the rainbow bracelet, with the LGBT emblem.  

"So...  I guess something changed?" Stiles asked.

Vincent nodded, holding it tightly.  "You told my dad to let me live with my grandma, or you'd sue us both for assault.  So..  He did, which worked out, since the school kicked me out anyway.  I went to a public school in Andersonville about 30 miles away, where there wasn't anyone who..  Well, nobody knew me.  So now I could start over, and...  Well, I got new friends who didn't care I was gay.  The last two months have been the best in my life," he said, taking a deep breath.  

"You met someone," Stiles said, recognizing that smile that was on Vin's face.  It was the same one Stiles saw on himself every morning.

"Yeah," Vin said, smirking.  "His name is Gabe, we met at a Halloween party and became friends.  Then about a week ago, we uh...  We started dating," he said, turning to Stiles.  "So what about Derek?  Seems like a great guy," he asked.

Stiles nodded.  "Derek is...  Derek is amazing.  He knows all about me, and we still had the most AMAZING sex you can ever imagine.  Holy fuck, you just don't even know, I was JELLO for a week," he said, musing quietly.

Vin snorted at the comment.  "Good!  Glad to hear it," he said.

The two walked in silence after that.  Before they knew it, Stiles and Vin were outside the local elementary school where they'd first met.  

"My dad died around Thanksgiving.  Drank himself to death.  I guess without a punching bag, he... He didn't have anyone to hate but himself," Vin said, taking a seat on an old wooden bench.

Stiles joined him.  "Not sure if I should say "sorry" or not," he asked.

Vin shook his head.  "No, my dad died on the inside way before then.  When mom left, it was all over.  I didn't even cry at the funeral, I was...  I was relieved," he admitted.  Laughing, Vin clutched his pants tightly.  "How sad is that?" he asked.

"Not really, given what he did to you.  You went psycho all on your own, but he had a lot to do with it, soo...  Yeah," Stiles said, quietly.  

Turning to Stiles, Vin took a deep breath.

"How come...  How come after everything I did to you, the first thing you did when you woke up in the hospital was call my dad in and get me out of that house?" Vin asked.

Stiles shrugged.  "I dunno.  I suppose even after getting hurt, there was somewhere deep in my heart that knew this was the only chance to save you.  I meant it when I said I loved you way back then.  Hell, I think I'll always have a little part of me that will remember what we were like, and remember how close we were back when we were just friends," he said quietly.  He folded his arms in the freezing air, letting out a fog of warm breath in the cold evening.  "Just because I was pissed and you were an ass didn't mean I didn't want you to be miserable the rest of your life.  Plus, I was on morphine, so fucking hell was I high as balls," he said, laughing quietly.

Vin chuckled.  "That's just who you are.  You think of everyone else before yourself.  Five bucks says Derek would say the same thing," he said proudly.

Trying not to think about Derek constantly joking about how Stiles tried to get him to a hospital after learning about werewolves for the first time, Stiles just shrugged.  "Well, I guess I'm alright," he said, looking up into the night sky.  "You know...  I'm glad you're happy.  As much as I don't want to go back to the life I had, I guess I always wondered...  I wondered if you'd be stuck in the closet, miserable at home, or actually trying to be happy," he said.

"I am.  I'm just sorry how it had to happen.  Sorry it had to take me beating the shit out of you and you moving away from your life to get me...  Happy," Vin answered.

Stiles bit the bottom of his lip.  "So...  How do I know you're not going to beat the shit out of Gabe, like me?  That's gonna keep me up at night," he asked.

Vin nodded.  "I'm in anger management and therapy two times a week, grandma made me or she was not going to let me stay with her.  I'm working through my issues and I joined a boxing club as part of that therapy.  I can get my aggression out there.  Gabe's boxing with me, he actually uh...  Well, he's a lot like me.  Both had bad dads and both did stupid shit that could have got us thrown in jail," he answered.

"Good," Stiles said, smiling.  "Don't ever fuck up again, got it?  Or I'll let you be Derek's chew toy," he said threateningly.

"Chew toy?" Vin asked cautiously.  

"Inside joke," Stiles said, laughing.    

They both sat in silence again.  There wasn't much else to say.

Vin looked up at the night sky with Stiles.  The moon was just about full, with only a week left before it'd be at its height.  

"You...  You're different now," Vin said.

"Heh?" Stiles asked.  He skewed his face.

Vin chuckled, turning to face his ex.  "You're happy.  Like genuinely happy.  Not the fake "everything will be okay one day optimistic" happy, you are fucking over the moon now.  You're relaxed.  You really love your home, don't you?" he answered.

"I do.  It's like I finally found a place I belonged, and not this stupid small-minded town," Stiles said, turning his head to the side.  Derek, Ethan, and Mr. Stilinski were all waiting in the bushes on the far end side of the elementary school.  So totally oblivious that anyone with eyes could see them all.  "You're happy now too.  I can tell, you're not in constant fear or agitation," he explained.

"I am," Vin answered, in a similar jovial tone that Stiles had used.    

Huffing, Stiles stood up, tired of freezing his ass off.  "Okay, so you're happy, I'm happy, and we're happy being APART and in our own little parts of the world," he said.

"Yep," Vin answered, standing up as well.  He held his hand out to Stiles.  

They both shook firmly.

"I guess this is goodbye for good this time?  If it wasn't clear in August, I really am breaking up with you.  We never finished that conversation, did we?  I sort of got knocked out," Stiles asked cautiously.

Vin shoved his hands into his jeans.  "Yeah.  I don't think there's anything left between us, is there?" he asked.

Stiles shook his head.  "No, not romantically.  Though I am glad to see you've got your head out of your ass.  Add me on FaceBook, I'll re-friend you.  Not saying we're going to be buddy-buddy, and you're definitely not coming to my wedding or shit like that, but I think I'd like to make sure you're not doing stupid shit.  Maybe see Gabe and you having a HEALTHY relationship.  Maybe chew you out if you slip up.  It'd be nice knowing my old power-ranger buddy was doing fine," he smirked.  

"I'd like that too.  Dying to see you and your friends and your new home," Vin answered.

Stiles held up a hand.  "If you show up drunk and try to get me back, I've got a pack of dogs who will maul you," he spat.  

Vin laughed.   "I swear, I swear," he answered.  He shook his head.  "Well listen, I'm going to head off, Grams is visiting the cemetery for Dad while I was doing this, and I'm sure she's done by now.  Enjoy your Christmas Stiles, and again...  I'm sorry we had to end like we did because I was an ass, but I'm happy it ended us where we are.  If that hopefully doesn't sound as fucked up as I now think it does," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Stiles shoved Vin away.  "I get what you mean, you're not good with moments.  Go on!  Let me have my cuddle night with Derek and hopefully plan our fun trip without this being too awkward, asswipe," he said.

Waving goodbye, Vin did jog off.  Stiles threw his hands into the pockets of his faithful red hoodie.  

There was a genuine weight off his shoulders.  Vin really was gone this time.  Everything was finalized.  He didn't have to worry about his ex anymore, either being an abusive dick, being an abusive dick to someone else, or showing up and doing something stupid at the worst time.  They would never really have a relationship like they had, even as friends.  But at least he could have some peace of mind with his past.  

Hell, it was just good knowing an old friend (even if he was an abusive asshole) was doing well (especially if he was trying not to be an abusive asshole).  His oldest friend was happy, which was really all he wanted before coming to Beacon Hills.  That part of his life was finally at a close.

Then, it hit him.  What was really holding him back from being open with Derek.  

Just like Derek, it was his past.  Back in his mind, he was always going to have Vin sitting in the background, like Derek had Peter.  He should have told them all the truth from the start.  They would have helped him get over it.  In the end, he didn't trust them.  He didn't want them to think he was weak.  

That was over.

Spinning around, Stiles met his friends' and father's face.  He started slowly walking towards him, especially Derek.  

He was going to kiss the HELL out of his boyfriend.  The curse was going to be broken.  He felt it in his gut.  

They were not a minute's walk away from making that happen.  

Then, Stiles heard a loud screech in the background.

"STILES LOOK OUT!" Liam screamed.

Stiles spun across the street, where the half-naked werewolf teen was sobbing hysterically.

Before he had a chance to ask what Liam was doing there, two strong hands were gripping his shoulders.  

"Sorry, can't have you fucking everything up.  It was either this, or we killed you.  Be grateful your little friend Matt spoke up for you and offered this," a dark voice said.  

Rough hands ripped his hoodie's collar off completely from his body, and by the look on Derek's face across the sidewalk said it all.

"DAD, STOP!" Liam screamed.

Everything went so slow.  Liam rushing out across the street trying to make it to him.  Ethan and Derek shifting, while his father pulled out his holstered gun.

Not that any of mattered.  

Stiles felt it.  The man's fangs sinking deep in his skin, with something pouring into his veins.  

Venom.  

Werewolf venom.  

His blood felt murky, like it wasn't his anymore.  His bones were burning.  His muscles HURT.

Stiles was being turned.

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

_"It's been a week.  Why hasn't he woken up yet?"_

Stiles moved his body, feeling remarkably uncomfortable and HOT.  Though more importantly, was that Lydia?  Why was Lydia in Lilyvale?

_"When I turned, I was out for four days.  Maybe because Stiles is skinny as a beanpole?  Or maybe the thing about his junk?  He's got a lot more to heal."_

That was Danny.  His ears wiggled, and he realized how LOUD everyone was.  Even without his eyes open, Stiles knew that his friends were all there.  Wait, no...  His friends, Liam, Melissa, and...  Peter?

_"This is so fucked up.  He didn't DESERVE this.  Please tell me that Mr. Dunbar is getting his head chopped off?"_

That was Scott.  He must have just gotten there from running, because Stiles could heard his heart THUDDING.  He also smelled horrible, like rotten peppers.  Actually, they all smelled like rotten peppers.  Had they just gotten out of eating Mexican food?  It was fairly pungent and forced Stiles into consciousness.

" _The punishment for administering a bite unlawfully is death.  He's been turned over to the Beast Faction.  Whatever they do with him, we'll never know.  Hell, I'd be shocked if they didn't just eat him alive.  Though I'm sure they'll just bleed him to death.  Either way, I'm rather thrilled by both prospects."_

That was Peter.  Wait, Derek's father was there?  Stiles appreciated him speaking softly, because the others were screaming and he wasn't fond of that.  His head was already throbbing hard enough as it was.  Actually, his nose was throbbing as well.  It felt huge on his face, like it was swollen.

" _How's Claudia and John taking this?"_

_"As good as you could expect.  John is worrying, and Claudia is trying to be strong for him.  In the end, I think they're just relieved their son is safe.  Though this does change a lot for all of them.  They need their time."_

Allison and Melissa respectively.  The rotten peppers were replaced with something like damp dog.  Their heart rates slowed.  

Wait, how did he KNOW that?  Why was he hearing all of these things?  

_"The sun faction getting arrested should help them out and give them some comfort.  Thanks to Matt and Liam, the conspiracy came to light, and they're all going to jail for life.  Most of the orphaned kids from the faction are going to the Beast Faction, and a few of them are sticking around town.  Liam's coming to stay with me."_

Derek.  Thank God Derek was there.  Stiles felt his eyes fluttering open.  

Taking in his surroundings, he recognized the room as... A hospital room?  It wasn't Lilyvale's, he'd seen enough of that place.  He must be back in Beacon Hills.  

As he started coming to, a lot of things felt...  Off.

His arms and legs were stiff, like they weren't as flexible as they once were.  Then there was his face, and his ears felt like they were higher up on his head.  His body felt HUGE in comparison.

_"Guys...  I think he's waking up.  Holy fuck...  He is!.  He's waking up."_

Jackson sounded genuinely nervous.  Stiles looked up and faced all of them, who held a similar fearful glance.  

Derek was the first one to step up, holding his hands out.  "Stiles...  I'm going to need you to stay very calm...  Okay?  Just...  Just breath in and out easily..." he offered.

"Okay?" Stiles said.

Or at least that's what he would have said.  Instead a fucked up "Awooofufufuufhughl?" came out.  His tongue was flapping...  

Flapping out of his mouth.  

A long ass tongue that he could not, for the love of God, stick back in his mouth.  

"Fuck, he knows.  He knows he turned," Jackson whispered quietly to Lydia.  A whisper that Stiles heard plain as if Jackson was screaming in his ear.

Then, it came back to him.  The fangs.  The venom.  How his entire body HURT.  

Stiles looked down at his body.  He pretended not to be too bothered by the fact it was...  A wolf's body.  He was pretending he wasn't living in a actually fucking wolf's body.  

Yep, pretend time.  

He pretended to think that his soft autumn fur, like a fall landscape of browns and oranges, was adorable.  Lydia could eat her heart out, STILES was the pretty one now.  

Silently glad that he was probably bigger than Jackson in terms of wolf-size, he found it remarkable that his arms and legs felt like they could run thirty miles without getting tired.  Stiff, but strong.

Oh, and he was able to wag his tail back and forth.  It was like a whole new bone to his skeletal system, and he'd definitely try to figure out how that formed during the shifting process.  

So yeah, he was a wolf. That asshole bit him, within a MINUTE of him finally ending the goddamn curse.  

Pretend time was over, rational Stiles was done, he felt 20 seconds was long enough to compose himself.  He had no idea the kind of noise that was leaving his mouth, but it was some kind of mixture of a whine, a wheeze, and full on howl.  THROUGH A FUCKING SNOUT.

God he'd fucked up.  He'd fucked up everything.  He was a wolf.  He couldn't break the curse anymore.  Everything was over.  So fucking over.

Scrambling to try and stand on his own two- actually, scratch that, four feet and feeling a weird urge in his stomach to crawl under the bed and whine, Stiles watched his friends immediately come to his side, trying to keep him seated on the side-lying position he'd been in previously.  

"Stiles, don't...  Don't freak out, PLEASE.  Just stay still, Dr. Deaton and Mom need to check you out," Derek said, running his hands through Stiles' soft fur.

Which fucking hell did that feel good and actually calm him.  Stiles slumped back down, resting his head on the flat pillow.

"Thank you," Derek said, pressing a kiss on Stiles' forehead.  He rubbed small circles on Stiles' head, right behind his ears.  "Just lay there and stay still.  Mom?" he asked.

Nodding, Melissa came to Stiles' side.  She pulled a stethoscope from her medical scrubs, and checked his heart rate in several different spots up and down his body.  "Heart rate is up.  Nothing shocking, given the news, but...  He definitely needs to calm down before we can let him leave.  Everyone but Peter, Derek and myself?  OUT.  Lydia, call Claudia and John and let them know he's awake," she ordered.

Not about to go against Melissa's word, the entire gang but Peter and Derek vacated the room quietly.  A few waved and offered apologies to Stiles.  

Once they were all out, Stiles noticed how the smells still lingered.  Those fucking rotten peppers and damp dog was making him want to vomit all over the hospital room.

"Hey...  It's okay..." Derek said, ignoring his mother's annoying glare as he hopped up and made himself comfortable on the hospital bed with Stiles.  He spooned with Stiles, pulling his mate as close as he could.

Stiles just sat there while Melissa poked and prodded him.  She inspected his ears, the flexibility of his new joints, his tail, took his temperature, and even checked each and every one of his teeth.  

Derek said next to him through it all, slowly petting up and down his head and back.  

Finally, Melissa sighed peacefully.  "Everything is just fine.  His first shift left nothing out of place.  Assuming he's calm enough and if he can learn how to shift back and forth, he can leave once his blood pressure is down," she explained.

Peter, who'd been silent off to the side for the longest time, nodded appreciatively.  "Thank you.  If you don't mind, I'm going to need a word with Stiles," he said.

"Of course," Melissa said, nodding.  "I'll be outside.  I'll break Claudia and John in as soon as they get back," she admitted bluntly.

Peter chuckled as Melissa made her exit.  He stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in, coming to Stiles' side.  "We have a few things to talk about Stiles.  Derek, stop petting him, I need him to pay attention," he said.

If Stiles knew how to work his teeth, he would have bit Peter's hand off.  He didn't know what Derek's fingers were doing, but it was MAGICAL.

"First and foremost, you are going to be smelling, feeling and hearing a lot of things you never would have smelt, felt, or heard before.  Take it easy, breath, and everything will become second nature to you quickly.  A week or so at the most.  If you ever have any worries or don't like how something is going, talk to Derek.  Your mate will be the most calming feature for you right now, and I highly recommend you have Derek move in with you until things simmer down in your head," Peter explained.

Stiles nodded.  Made enough sense, really.  

"Now, if it wasn't obvious enough?  Stiles, you're a werewolf now.  Mr. Dunbar bit you, and there wasn't anything we could do about it.  I'm sorry," Peter said, rubbing behind Stiles' ears in slow circles.

Holy fuck was that an amazing feeling.  Stiles felt his leg thumping up and down eagerly to the side.

Derek growled at his father, swatting away his hand.  An unspoken MINE was shared between the father and son.

"Apologies," Peter said, holding up his hands and backing away from his son's mate.  "After you were bitten, your mother brought you back home.  You've been asleep as the first shift took place, there was a lot of bone and muscle transformations that had to happen.  As well as...  Well, other things I'll let you discover on your own," he said, clearing his throat.  

"Dad, I'll take care of this.  It's a private matter,"  Derek said, shooting an angry glance at Peter.  

"Of course son.  I'll be in the waiting room with the rest of the pack," Peter answered, making himself very scarce very quickly.  

Stiles relaxed into Derek's arms, still just not sure what to say, and not even sure how to say what he wanted to say, if he even knew what to say.  Because, you know, dog mouth. 

"Stiles, you look like you're about to explode.  Are you ready to try going back to a human?" Derek asked.

"YES," Stiles tried to mouth out, only to get tripped up on his tongue again.  Though his face spoke volumes.

Derek laughed.  "Wolf lesson number one, you cannot talk like a human, you don't have the throat muscles for it anymore," he answered.  Slowly, he patted Stiles on the back.  "Shifting back is easy.  Just picture yourself being human again, and want it to happen, like Dorothy's magic ruby slippers.  It doesn't work on the full moon, but otherwise, your wolf will know to take a hike," he explained.

Nodding, Stiles huffed through his nose.  He tried to imagine himself as human again.  His lanky limbs, his less than stellar muscle content, and the rough hair he had on his head.

Then, Stiles noticed his body was cracking and bending.  Just like Derek had told him, nothing actually hurt in the whole process.  His body went numb as the hair jetted back into his body, and the fur vanished into his pale skin.

All in the span of a minute, Stiles was a buck bare human, being held by his mate.  

"Welcome back," Derek said, pressing a kiss into Stiles' neck.  "Listen, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to save you, but...  I swear to God I'm going to help you make the most of this.  I'll get you through this.  I promise Stiles, I'll...  I'll make this right," he explained.  

"I'm going to barf," Stiles said.

Derek felt his head drop.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't-"

"NO, not that...  I'm LITERALLY going to barf, I'm sorry," Stiles said, covering his stomach.

"Oh...  Oh, well that's normal.  It's why we eat so much, the shift takes way too many calories.  Would you like me to grab you something?  A steak?  Some beef?  A rare porkchop?  I could hunt you some venison," Derek offered, naming off some delicious sounding options.  God his mate was perfect.

Though as romantic as that was...  His stomach was doing backflips and he was about to upchuck whatever content was still in his stomach.  He clenched everything, hopped out of bed, and was running straight to the bathroom.  Still mildly numb from the waist down post-shift, he struggled to find his footing.

"Stiles!  Wait a minute!  I think you need to see something!  I-"

Ignoring whatever his boyfriend was spouting, Stiles threw open the bathroom and

Stiles fell to the floor, raising up the toilet seat and vomiting.  He tried to bend down further to reach for the toliet paper.  When he did, he yelped LOUDLY, as a throbbing pain shot throughout his body.  Something had pinched his crotch and felt like they'd punted him.  Groaning, he threw his hand over his...

His...

..

.

Stiles knew he was still a little hysterical, he'd been through plenty in the last few minutes, but there was no way he was looking at what he was looking at.  Spitting out the last of his post-shift vomit, Stiles rose up and immediately ran to the bathroom mirror, and...

He wasn't losing it.

Stiles had a dick.  

Nothing as gargantuan as Derek, but a solid 5 to 6 inches, he'd DEFINITELY be measuring later.  Dangling below it was...  Well, he has testicles too.  

Taking a deep breath, Stiles took his hand and slapped himself across the face as hard as he could manage.  

Glancing down, he still saw the dick and still saw the balls.

"No..  There's no way," Stiles said, laughing to himself.  

He took his hand, slapping himself again.  There was a new strength in how he hit, and Stiles wondered if he'd broken his jaw at first.  

Ignoring that for the moment, Stiles looked back down to his junk.

Yep.  That was a still a penis.  

For the first time in his life, Stiles had no words.  He could only shake his head.  

So instead, he flushed the toilet, brushed his teeth in record time with a hospital brush, and swung open the door to the restroom.  

Derek was just waiting patiently, sitting on the edge of the bed.  He had a short grin on his face.  "I'm guessing you noticed?" he asked.

Stiles nodded.  He looked down and saw more of what had changed about him.  There was a little more muscle everywhere, with the soft outlining of a six pack.  His hair was longer on the top, and the chest scars from his top surgery were GONE.  He had soft pecs, like someone just starting out at a gym.  

He knew it.  He knew he was hot.  He was a hot guy.  

"Happy?  Sad?  I'm feeling mixed emotions coming off you," Derek said.

Stiles just let out a stammering level of half-words, shaking his head in confusion as he made his way next to his mate.

"Derek...  I..  I don't even...  Why do I have a penis and balls?  Am I dreaming?  Am I high on wolf morphine or something?  Because last time I was in the hospital, I DID seriously trip balls, so like...  Please tell me that you're staring at my dick, and that this isn't just a really good dream?" Stiles asked.

Derek found a soft smile.  "I suppose you could say it's the silver lining in all of this.  Trust me, if I had known THAT would happen, I would have offered you the bite a long time ago," he said, throwing his arm around Stiles and pulling him back on the hospital bed.  

"HOW?  HOW THE LITERAL FUCK?  WHAT IS THIS?  WHAT IS THIS GORGEOUS THING HANGING OFF MY BODY?" Stiles said, viciously signaling to his newfound manhood.   

"The first shift is always the most powerful," Derek said, starting as he slowly massaged Stiles' back.  "The wolf and human become one, and healing is amplified tenfold.  Allison was practically dead after her accident, and she came out of the hospital the next couple of days after her shift, with literally nothing wrong with her.  She was going to lose her limbs or be completely brain dead.  That was how strong her first shift was," Derek explained.

Stiles scoffed.  "I get that healing my chest scars, but.. What does that have to do with me getting male parts?" he asked, genuinely curious.  

Derek pulled his mate closer. "Deaton's hypothesis is that there was so much testosterone in your system from your T injections, that your wolf identified as a male, matching your hormones and your way of thinking.  So when your wolf tried to merge with your old body, it tried to...  Well, it tried to "heal" what was missing.  I mean, a clit is basically an unformed penis, so it wasn't all that much of a change in that regard.  The testicals?  We'll chop that up to magical werewolf healing.  We didn't ask to explain how Allison had an entire arm re-created overnight, so we'll not ask now," he answered.

"So...  I'm cursed being a werewolf, but I get to be a guy now?  Like both mentally AND biologically?  Can I cum?  Like can I actually CUM with semen and sperm and stuff?  Holy fuck..." Stiles said, running his hands through his hair.  He had a giddy grin forming all over his face.  One that melted into a frown.  "But I also can't have COFFEE anymore?  No more chocolate?  FUCK," he said, slamming his hands against the bed.  "But wait...  I also have muscles now.  I can whip anyone in tennis.  FUCK YES, MRS. WHITTEMORE IS GOING DOWN," he exclaimed happily.

Laughing, Derek pulled Stiles into his lap and just inhaled deeply.  

It hit Stiles.  A mix of smoky ash and cinnamon.  Like a well done slice of french toast.  

"You smell like cinnamon toast crunch?  What the literal fuck?" Stiles asked, snorting as he pressed his nose up to Derek's chest.  His scent was remarkable.  It felt like HOME.  It felt right.  It was...  MATE.  Stiles tried not to think too hard on what that meant, and was just going to chalk it up to his new instinct.

Derek chuckled.  "No, actually, that's what...  WE smell like," he answered.  He ran his hands up and down Stiles' back, massaging the sore spine from his shift.  "I've always smelt like ashes.  You?  You've always had a really spicy cinnamon smell.  Mom always tells me she gets hungry when we're together," he admitted humorously.

Leaning off Derek, Stiles glanced back down at his new boys.  

"God...  I have...  I have them.  This is..  This is more than I ever expected out of life," Stiles said, nearly on the verge of tears.  

Derek pressed kisses over Stiles' forehead.  He pulled his mate back into his chest, leaving no space between their bodies.  Derek cupped his ass.  

"You're beautiful.  You were beautiful then, and you're beautiful now.  Stiles, I can't tell you how happy I am for you," Derek said.

Stiles choked out a bit of laughter.  "God, this makes being a beast definitely more than okay.  I mean...  Fuck, I...  I...  I'm awful," he answered.

Just as Stiles seemed to relax into things, Derek felt his body stiffen.  

"Stiles?" Derek asked.

Shaking his head, Stiles sighed.  "Here I am...  Excited, and...  I fucked you guys over.  I can't break the curse anymore.  What good am I now?" he answered.

Derek grabbed Stiles by the shoulders and growled, nibbling on his mate's ear.  

THAT got Stiles' attention.  In his gut, he FELT the love, and nearly yelped at the feeling.  Like Derek's tiny little nibble formed a warm bubble in his stomach, one that wasn't going anyway anytime soon.  

Stiles felt a rumbled in his own throat, and...  He growled right back, like a soft purr.  It came out without him realizing it, and Derek was already nibbling a new bite mark on Stiles' neck.  

"Hey..  Listen to me.  YOU didn't disappoint anyone.  Mr. Dunbar did.  YOU did everything right, and YOU worked your ass off to make everyone else here happy.  Now it's YOUR turn.  YOU get to be happy now, got it?  Don't you worry about us.  You can listen to my heart now.  You can SMELL us now.  We want you to be happy, just as much as you want us happy.  So shut the fuck up, enjoy your cock, and we'll figure everything else out later, okay?" Derek said.

"Enjoy your cock?  Wow.  Such a romantic and touching speech.  Gee, feels very climatic," Stiles said, chuckling under his breath.  

Stiles didn't really know what "happy" smelt like.  But he did know that Derek's smoky flavoring was replaced with something more light, like a fresh cut lawn, or the great outdoors.

Then there was his heart.  Derek's heart was thudding steadily, with just a little uptick each and every time he touched Stiles.  Little spikes of excitement.  

"Sorry, I'll try to come up with something more compelling next time," Derek answered, smirking.  "Now...  How about you have some fun?  Quit worrying about the curse.  Quit worrying about everyone else.  Okay?" he asked.

Not waiting any longer, Stiles clambered off Derek, leaning back against the bed.  Stiles touched them, fondling them in his hands.  He FELT them.  His boys felt his hands touching them.  

"Holy fuck, they are REAL...  They're REAL," Stiles exclaimed.  As he continued touching them, his dick got hard, growing to a solid 7 inches ina.  

"THAT WORKS TOO!  OH MY GOD IT WORKS.  I was worried I was going to have to have viagra or some shit and be a wrinkled old man!" Stiles screeched.

Derek smiled, watching his mate play with himself.  As much as he wanted to get involved with him, this was Stiles' moment.  Probably something he'd been waiting a lifetime for.  He wasn't going to ruin that.

He knew he was stronger than that.  Derek had self control.  He was in control.

"Derek, get up here and HELP me," Stiles demanded.  

It took all of a second for Derek to shred his clothing and jump on top of his amazing boyfriend, taking all of Stiles' length in his mouth, earning a ridiculously loud moan.  

_

Melissa stopped John and Claudia.  They had arrived at the door, and Claudia was an inch from grabbing the door handle.  

"I would...  I would wait if I were you," Melissa said, clearing her throat as she flushed.

"WHY?" John spat bitterly.  

"Stiles is...  Stiles is uh..  Playing checkers?" Melissa said clearing her throat.  


	24. Chapter 24

Learning to be a werewolf turned out to be a mixture of fun, frustration, fear, and a bunch of other words that didn't start with f.  

Smell was, in Stiles' opinion, the most fascinating aspect.  The rotten tomatoes?  Rage.  Wet dog?  Sadness.  The fresh outdoors?  Actually, that one turned out to be a mixture of joy, arousal, and a desire for companionship.  Turns out that smells in werewolf culture were very picky, and Stiles figured that he'd get it sooner or later.

Super-hearing was nice and all, but going outside of the hospital for the first time left Stiles nearly deaf as he heard just about everything in a mile radius.  Thankfully Derek was there to give him earplugs, which was had to wear daily until he learned how to tune out everything.  Irritating to wear, but better than hearing Mrs. Maude yelling at her husband for not being able to wash the dishes or pleasure her properly.

By Christmas Eve, thankfully, Stiles had gotten down enough to actually go out in public, so long as he had his earplugs.  

While he would have LOVED to spend it with his family, the full moon had other plans, which were taking him to Lydia's place.

Stiles, Derek, Ethan, and Liam were opting to walk the short 2 mile distance.  The air was crisp, and just cold enough that his body heat finally seemed to be a little less noticeable.  Taking a deep breath, Stiles hummed happily walking with his friends.  The atmosphere was near-flawless, but really, he wished it would snow already.  That would make everything perfect.

"Whyyyyyyy," Stiles whined, leaning on Liam's head and using him as a headrest.  "I want to spend Christmas with mom and dad.  I mean, I love you guys, but it's CHRISTMAS. They're SO pissed off," he moaned.  

Derek rolled his eyes.  "I figure you'd rather not let your parents go through the horror of watching you force-shifted.  It doesn't hurt, but it's scary as fuck.  Trust me, you don't want that hampering Christmas.  You'd rather be with us anyway, your wolf is going to be a little...  Nuts," he answered.

"You'll be all GRRRR, NATURE BITCHES!" Liam exclaimed, baring his tiny little fangs playfully and attempting to emulate Breaking Bad, which Derek had forcing down his throat.  His mate was SUCH a bad influence.

Stiles turned to the recently tatted Liam, proudly displaying his Night Faction mark on his neck, a moon intertwined with a half-heart.  He'd moved in with Derek, sharing a room with Derek and Scott.  Even in just a week, Stiles could tell the kid was incredibly relieved.  Like a huge weight was off his shoulders, and he could just be himself.  Which turned out to be a goofy little bastard who had mild aggression issues.  

"He's right.  I wouldn't want mom seeing me shift.  You've seen it.  It's not pretty, and she's worry that you were hurting," Ethan said quietly.  He strung his words together carefully, and with minimal grunting.

THERE was another rather pleasant surprise that Stiles had been happy to see.  Ethan's speaking was naturalizing again, as his throat muscles got more and more of a workout.  Not to mention he was STYLISH, especially as his hair grew out to a nice short length.  Claudia had gone out and bought him warm sweaters, sharp looking shirts, and nice jeans.  Stiles was about 99% sure that Ethan didn't know he was wearing an Armani sweater, or that he was filling it out like a fucking beast, pun intended.  God bless Doctors and their otherworldly pay funding Ethan's new wardrobe.

Stiles groaned, hopping off Liam and throwing his hands into his brand new red hoodie, given that the old one had been shredded during his biting.  "FINE.  I'll go have fun with my wolf friends and totally not flaunt the fact that I have a penis now.  GEE, I wonder if other kids in other towns have these problems," he said, with a playful wink at everyone's direction.

Everyone laughed, as Liam ran a little ahead of the party, just outside of Lydia's house.  "I smell snow!  It's SNOWING!" he shouted loudly.  

Ethan smiled, running after Liam so he didn't go into the street like a moron and get hit by a stray car.

While they did their thing, Derek patted Stiles on the shoulder.  "Try to smell it.  This one's difficult, but I have faith in you," he said.

Stiles, just like Derek showed him during practice, flared his nostrils and took a short breath of air through them.  There really was a small shift, as the water up in the air had a more frigid scent.  The subtle difference between water and ice.  

"Smell it?" Derek asked.

Pouting, Stiles sighed.  "Barely.  How the hell do you guys do it so EASY?" he exclaimed, already fed up.  He adjusted the earplugs in his ear, huffing frustratingly.  

"We were born into it Stiles.  We learned this stuff when we were three and four, not bordering on seventeen.  Give yourself a break, it'll come to you fast," Derek said, as he guided Stiles up to Lydia's two story modern home.  

Entering the Martin house, Stiles wasn't surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Martin already wolfed out, curled up next to a fireplace.  They were already prepped for the evening's full moon, with bowls of water and plates of snacks laid out on the floor.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Martin," Stiles said, nodding politely in their direction.  

They both left out soft snorts.  Which either meant "Hello Stiles", or they were swearing at him in Swedish.  Werewolf language was fucked up and so subtle that the nonverbal cues were really only eligible to Stiles when he himself was a wolf.  Derek assured him he thought WAY too much of it, and that flawless translations into "human" were generally impossible.

Shaking off the irritation at his lack of knowledge, Stiles barely felt Derek take of his hoodie, just leaving him in a well-fitted tee.  Everything was a little tighter on Stiles, thanks to his newfound upper body strength.  

Before he knew it, he was inside Lydia's colossal bedroom, met with their circle of friends.  Most of the furniture had been pushed to the side of the room, with a huge number of bean bags and extra large dog begs covering the plush brown carpeting.  

Danny and Isaac were spread out on a two-person bean-bag, each reading something on their smartphones.  

Jackson and Lydia were spread out on Lydia's bed, with Jackson half-asleep and using Lydia's rear-end as a pillow while she flipped through a magazine.

Ethan and Liam were fighting over the biggest bean bag, and Ethan was pretending that Liam even remotely gave him a struggle.  

Scott and Allison were slow-dancing in place, both wearing the hideous pink hoodies that Stiles had bought them for Christmas.  More noticeable were the silver engagement rings on each of their hands.  Allison had popped the question to Scott, using the pink hoodies as a way to bring up the very first time they'd met each other.  

Stiles took a deep breath, and could smell the contentment and downright love on them.  Like roses swaying in the breeze.

Though as Stiles and Derek entered, everyone turned their faces straight to Stiles.

"DUDE.  You're OUT.  Holy fuck, nobody let us anywhere NEAR you!" Scott said, letting go of his fiance and jumping on Stiles, hugging him tightly.

Stiles patt Scott firmly on the back, smirking.  "Good to see you buddy," he said, oddly relaxing as he took in Scott's odd-ass spicy sweet scent.  

Everyone's smell brought even further ease to him.  Lydia's strawberry scent, Allison's floral aroma, Jackson's lemon-lime funk, Isaac's musty tome-like smell, and Danny's fresh pineapple all combined into one ball of HOME.  

"Okay Scott, he's getting scent-drunk, lay off," Lydia said, having moved off her bed and pulling Scott off of Stiles.  Keeping her distance, Lydia blew a short kiss Stiles' way.  "Welcome home Stiles.  I know it's not that you wanted, but I'm glad to have you with us.  You're family, you're pack, you're home, and now we can get our Full Moon party started!" she said, waltzing over towards her desk, where a dozen half-drank beverages sat.  She took the two fullest ones, and spun around.

"Okay, so...  What's a Full Moon party entail?" Stiles asked, making himself comfortable on Lydia's perky pink beanbag.  Derek was throwing both of their hoodies into Lydia's closet, and playfully shoved Liam under his arm, chuckling as he and Ethan both stuffed the runt of the pack into the beanbag he'd been fighting for.  Like two big brothers torturing their younger one.  

Lydia immediately handed Stiles a full glass of a bright blue drink, complete with cherries and a cheery umbrella.  "We just have fun and relax while we wait for the full moon to turn us.  Deaton says the full moon will hit us around eleven o'clock tonight, SO, we're partying until then.  Cuz for three days, we'll be a little.....  Beastly," she said, shrugging.  

"Cool," Stiles said, sipping the drink.  Some weird blueberry concoction that had a subtle tang of alcohol.  He rose an eyebrow at Lydia.

"You can't get drunk anymore, relax Mr. Sheriff's Son," Lydia said.

The party really did get underway soon after.  Which entailed most of the guys arguing with Liam and wrestling with the eager runt, while Lydia jogged downstairs to get the rest of the party trays of food.

Stiles, however, made his way over to Danny, who'd stayed put as he played with his phone on the beanbag.

"Hey Danny," Stiles said, raising his glass

"I warned you about this town.  I told you that they were dangerous," Danny said bluntly, still scrolling through his cell phone.

Stiles shrugged.  "Yeah, meh.  Right about that I guess.  I don't remember the bite though, I sort of blacked out," he responded.  

"Though I'll admit I was wrong about...  Them," Danny said, nodding towards the pile of limbs that had turned into the Liam wrestling match.  Even Jackson and Scott had gotten involved, except on Liam's side, helping try to take down the monoliths of muscles that were Derek and Ethan.  "They didn't ditch you.  I get the feeling that if I wasn't such a little bastard way back when, I could have had them as friends all this time, and not just Isaac.  Hell, I trapped Isaac with me.  I didn't mean to, but it's obvious...  He couldn't be friends with people I hated," he explained solemnly.

Stiles turned to Isaac, who was laughing at the side with Derek and Allison, placing a bet on who would win in the wrestling match.  He looked a lot happier than when Stiles had first met him way back in October.  

Patting Danny's shoulder, Stiles tried to keep an optimistic smile.  "Hey, you've still got time to make up for lost years.  We'll do shit.  How about you, me, Isaac, and Derek go hiking after New Year's?" he asked.  

"Yeah, I'd like that," Danny said, with a soft smile.  "I think I owe Derek a long overdue apology..." he offered.

"He'd like that," Stiles answered, nodding.  

+++++

The party had been pretty fun, all things considered.

Peter showed up for a few minutes, providing everyone with a bottle of "Christmas Wine for the Kids", which was just sparkling grape juice, but tasted fine nonetheless.

Stiles was fully welcomed into the pack, as everyone subtly marked him up with a new set of scents.  With his new wolf-half, he even marked them back up, with a lot of the night being spent watching television and cuddling in a huge pile of limbs.

Then?  The games.

Dear God, twister was a nightmare as Derek, Danny, and Lydia were all hypercompetitive to win, as the rest of the pack SLOWLY backed away from the crazy people playing dirty.

Nobody really had the patience for poker, given that Jackson had the world's best poker face, and a bullshiting factor of twenty million.  It also helped that Stiles forced everyone all in during round 5, ending up with Liam winning on a three of a kind.  

During truth or dare, Jackson was forced into admitting he once had a major crush on Scott, and Scott was immediately dared to make out for ten seconds with Jackson, much to the whooping and laughter from Allison and Lydia.   Liam had to let out the "truth" that he'd been been secretly crushing on Derek for years, but lost that after Stiles came into the picture.  While it wasn't part of the "truth", he did admit that he thought of Derek as his new father and Melissa as his mother.  To which Derek just smiled quietly.

Lydia was dared into making everyone another round of drinks, much to her chagrin, which is where the evening had stopped at.

While she swore repeatedly going down the stairs, Stiles just laughed along the rest of his friends at Lydia's misfortune.

It was then that Stiles yawned loudly, and piqued an eyebrow.

"Hey guys...  It seems REALLY late.  What time is it?" Stiles asked.

Scott reached into his pocket, picking up his cell phone.  His eyes grew.  "Uh...  It's midnight.  Merry Christmas?" he said, turning to the rest of the pack.  "That's pretty late, given the shift time.  Was Deaton drunk?" he asked.

"No," Derek answered immediately, standing up and making his way to the window, pulling the thin pink curtain to the side.  He glanced outside, watching as the Beast Faction conglomerated in the local park, as they usually did on the Full Moons.  They were in their furry glory.  

"Think it has something to do with those heart attacks?" Allison asked.

Stiles gulped.  The "heart attacks" (as Deaton had called them) wasn't just for Ethan and Derek.  Pretty much every member of the town had gone through a version of it.  Some were stronger, some were weaker.  Yet every person in town confirmed that in the same hour as Ethan and Derek's attack, they too went through a similar situation.  

It was a hot button issue in the town, and all that Deaton and the medical staff was studying around the clock.  A few thought it was a sign of the curse wanting to take their lives during the Harvest Festival on the 150th anniversary.  Others believed it was just a bonding thing, like "Group pain".  Several disregarded it as coincidence.  

Their group of friends?  They didn't know what to think of it.

Lydia returned with fresh drinks, passing them out.  They all shared nervousness regarding the time, but chose to think of it as nothing.

But by 1 in the morning, everyone's nerves were shot.

"The hell?  WHY aren't we shifting?  Deaton's been wrong before, sure, but like by THIRTY minutes, tops," Jackson exploded, pacing back and forth nervously.  

Liam was sat upon Stiles' lap, shifting uncomfortably.  "Maybe...  The curse is gone?" he asked hopefully.

"Impossible," Isaac said immediately, turning to Danny who clutched his hand tightly.

Standing up from her bean bag, Lydia stomped to the window and threw open the curtains.  The full moon was beaming overhead, and it was impossible to ignore.

"The moon is FULL.  We've shifted under LESS conditions.  Guys, I think he's RIGHT," Lydia said, spinning around and not even remotely ashamed of the tears forming in her eyes.

All eyes turned to Stiles and Derek.

To which Stiles held his hands up.  "Listen, the last time Derek and I kissed as a human and werewolf?  It didn't break the curse, because Derek shifted during his heart attack.  Wasn't us!" he exclaimed.

"BESIDES, that's not how the curse should have broken though.  I can still shift, I did it YESTERDAY to run with Stiles.  If it was broken, then why are we still wolves on the inside?" Scott pointed out.  

"Better yet, HOW was it broken?  If it is really broken," Derek offered.

Allison threw up her hand.  "The only humans left in Beacon Hills are Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski.  Wouldn't they have to do it?" she asked.

"I doubt either of them are cheating with a werewolf," Jackson fired immediately.

"No, they are NOT!" Stiles spat, growling at the very idea.

Sighing painfully, Stiles rubbed his forehead.  Everyone was arguing loudly about the idea of the curse being fucked up somehow, and he could barely hear himself think.

True love's first kiss.

A genuine feeling of affection put into a kiss, a first kiss.

Ethan stood up, patting Stiles on the shoulder.  "I'll text mom and let her know what's going on.  She'll want to know," he said, hopping up and snagging STiles' cell phone from beside him.

"Thanks Ethan.  Tell mom if we stay human we'll be home for Christmas," Stiles said, waving his brother off and-

Something hit him.  

 

_"He is not just a DOG, he is our FAMILY!"_

_"Oh Ethan, I LOVE YOU!"_

_"Hello... Son!"_

 

The time at Gertrude's.  Ethan's turning back into human.  Claudia's reaction.  

Not minutes before the heart attacks struck, Claudia had...  Kissed Ethan on the head for scaring away the cats.  Claudia had kissed Ethan, even if it wasn't a "traditional" kiss.

"HOW.  TELL ME HOW IT HAPPENED.  I'M NOT BELIEVING THIS SHIT UNTIL I'VE GOT EVIDENCE!  I'M NOT GIVING INTO A FALSE FUCKING HOPE," Jackson bellowed, right in Derek's face.  He was on the verge of angry tears.  

Stiles shook his head.  He laughed quietly, earning everyone's attention.  "It would have had to have been..." he said, pausing as Ethan answered Stiles' cell phone.  It was clear he was on the phone with Claudia.  He smiled.  "Mom.  Mom did it.  Mom broke the curse," Stiles said, covering his mouth.

"Wait...  What?" Derek asked.

The rest of the gang all stared at Stiles incredulously, deadly quiet.  Even Ethan had paused the conversation with Claudia, with Mrs. Stilinksi's voice just as quiet on the other end.

"MOM DID IT.  Mom loved Ethan as another son and gave him a kiss on the head.  TRUE FUCKING LOVE.  A MOTHER'S LOVE.  MY MOM LOVED ETHAN AS A SON, ," Stiles said, laughing wildly.  "She kissed Ethan, and then both he and Derek had that weird heart attack thing, the whole town had it!  THAT WAS THE CURSE DYING AND LEAVING YOUR BODY!" he exploded.

The room went deadly quiet.  

Stiles could feel their minds reeling in the news, letting it sink in slowly.

"We need to get with Deaton and my father confirm all of this.  There's a lot going on, and we need to keep calm heads.  The town is going to be freaking out without the full moon shift, and they're going to need answers," Derek said immediately.  

Lydia nodded.  "Everyone get your coats, we're heading out," she said, running to her closet and throwing everyone their coats.  

While everyone shoved on their coats, they simultaneously were trying to smile, cry and maintain some kind of calm demeanor.

Which, naturally, Liam chose to break.

"But...  Why are we still wolves?  How come we just got control back?" Liam asked.

The group all exchanged nervous looks.

_

A loud banging on Gertrude's front door brought the old wildlife preserve keeper out of her afternoon nap.  Yawning, she stretched out and slowly shooed away the cats from their slumber as well.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gertrude exclaimed angrily, as another loud set of knocks rang through the door.  

Reaching the front door, she laughed to herself, peeking through the peephole.  

Gertrude opened the door, met with the very stylish Peter Hale.  

"Miss Stilinski, it's been quite a long time.  Fifteen years, I believe?" Peter asked.  

Gertrude nodded.  "Yes Mr. Hale, it has been.  I assume you're here for a reason. Please come in," she said, signaling for Peter to enter her home.  "Though this time I hope you don't try and cut my neck," she asked.  

Peter dropped his head, as the many cats scattered VERY far away from the large werewolf.  "Youthful arrogance and rage at your family, I apologize again," he answered.

Shutting the door behind them, Peter politely stepped over several hissing cats.

"Tea, Mr. Hale?" Gertrude asked.  

"Yes, please," Peter responded.

Several minutes of awkward silence were shared as mild clinking happened in the kitchen.

"I suppose you've heard the curse was broken.  Your sister-in-law and her foster son were responsible for making it happen, our head "doctor" has confirmed it.  I think the town's been celebrating for the last week, in a haze of joy over having freedom again, but also confusion," Peter said, making himself comfortable on the fuzzy pink sofa.  The cats were still wary of him, hissing and pawing in his direction.

Far in the kitchen, Gertrude sat a kettle on the stove, turning it up to high.  "Oh yes..  I felt it clear across the state.  Congratulations are in order," she offered.

Peter nodded.  "My son and your nephew...  Descendants of the people who started this whole mess..  Well, they didn't actually break it, but were integral in the process.  Had Stiles not come and been who he was, this never would have happened," he explained.

"I'm surprised it wasn't broken sooner, to be honest," Gertrude answered, as the kettle began whistling loudly.  

"What I'm really after, however, is why the curse was changed.  This was not the damning we were promised.  Not that I'm complaining, given that our town was going to lose its identity, but...  In the end, it wasn't what we were promised.  As Hale's descendent, I feel it's my responsibility to tie up all of the loose ends," Peter asked.

Having finished pouring the hot water to simmer with the tea bags, Gertrude brought herself and Peter two cups of decaffeinated tea.  "Do you know the transitional property of magic?  In essence, it's how a person with magic passes down their abilities through their bloodline.  The originator of the family line decides that factor.  In our case, Kate chose how the magic was passed down," she explained.

Peter rose a curious eyebrow.  "I assume you're getting somewhere with this, so pretend I'm paying attention," he answered, taking his own cup and dipping his bag in and out slowly.

Gertrude nodded.  "Magic is passed down through the women in the Stilinski family.  How much or how little, determined by Kate, is all based on each woman's willpower.  My mother, Stiles' grandmother, could create rain by singing, or bring life to any plant she touched. She was a remarkable woman who was constantly optimistic," she explained.

Peter hummed.  "Fascinating.  I'm more interested in how you managed to change the curse.  It would have made for a more peaceful time between all of our factions if they knew we could keep our culture and way of life.  If it could have been altered that long ago, WHY wasn't it?  Maybe then your nephew wouldn't have needed to be bit.  I ASSUME it was you," he asked angrily.  

Gertrude chuckled.  "Oh Mister Hale, I've never had much magic in my body.  At least, not enough to change my sister's curse.  I have enough to heal the small wounds inflicted on the animals at the preserve, and that's it.  I'm a rather private person, never having the kind of personality like Kate or my mother had," she answered.

"I find that hard to believe.  What other female Stilinski is alive to change the curse then-," Peter answered, cutting himself off IMMEDIATELY.  

Stiles had shared his history as a transgender youth.  Even if he identified as male, he would have been a biological female as far as the magic was concerned.  

"The only living Stilinskis with magic are myself, Stiles' mother, and Stiles," Gertrude answered.

Sighing, Peter shook his head, sipping his tea.  "A teenager.  A teenager who changed a curse that's lasted 150 years?  I find that hard to swallow," he answered.

"While I lack in magic, my nephew, on the other hand, is as strong, if not stronger than Caitlyn.  He has enough willpower that he could probably turn you all into frogs or strike anyone down with lightning.  That boy has more magical potential than anyone I've ever seen in my life.  Though I doubt he even realizes what he has," Gertrude said, with a pointed smile.  

Peter stopped drinking his tea, glancing up at Gertrude with a clearly frightened face.  

"Instead?  His optimistic outlook on life took that magic and spread it out to the people he love most.  I truly believe he wanted to save the town’s way of life, but give them the freedom they always wanted out of life," Gertrude said pleasantly enough.

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

Six months.

A lot happened in six months for Stiles and his pack.  With the curse gone, there was nothing holding anyone back anymore from pursuing their dreams.  There was no more need in hiding in the town of Beacon Hills.  Which is exactly why a summer-long road trip was overdue.  They were all due adventures far away from the town, and Stiles was more than happy to plan one for them per their insistence.  They'd left a week after getting out for summer vacation, and had been clear across the country in what was a whirlwind of time that Stiles had difficulty keeping track up.

In Talia's minivan, Stiles glanced around the rest of his snoozing friends, who were conked out in the back.  They'd been driving for the better part of two days on this last stretch to their next destination, so everyone was moderately restless and pissy.  

Yet, even in their most pissy, Stiles could see the smiles.  The layers of anxiety melted away.

Lydia was asleep on Jackson's lap in the middle row, both sharing a pillow propped up against the window.  Both were smiling in their deep sleep.

Lydia applied to pretty much every ivy league college known to humanity, and based on her SAT and entrance essays, was already being aggressively scouted.  There wasn't a doubt that she'd be college-bound to somewhere in the next two years.

Just turning 17, Jackson was already submitting his shots to modeling agencies.  While most turned him away due to his age, he was still aggressively trying to start his campaign of sexy like he'd always wanted and desired.

In the same second row, Scott had managed to contort himself and Allison longways, with Allison laying on top of him.  His feet were on Jackson and Lydia's lap, where Jackson kept nudging them off to the floor instinctively in his sleep.

Allison and Scott were planning for wedding after their graduation.  Scott was already offered a job at the local animal shelter, and would be working full time after he finished school as an animal handler, including dealing with the actual wolves that weren't also people.  Allison, however, wanted to pursue a degree in medicine, which Scott more than wanted to support her with, saying that he'd get her through each and every year, no matter what.

The third row shared their small amount of luggage, as well as Liam and Ethan snoring loudly side-by-side.  Stiles chuckled at the sight, as Ethan instinctively had his arm around Liam, protecting the runt from a non-existent threat.  

Ethan, with Stiles' help, had gone through the required standardized testing to let him start at the 10th grade level.  He'd be a year behind the rest of his friends, but it was remarkable that he could get so much knowledge in such a little time.  Thankfully, the Beast Faction did had a mild form of education for the pups, which made things mildly easier.

Liam was thriving under Derek's care.  Even though there was only a 4 year difference in their age, and despite living together for a little over half a year, the runt of the pack never stopped smiling with his new father-figure.  He had a family that loved him for who he was, and a family who just wanted him to be happy.  With a mom like Melissa, and with pseudo-fathers like Derek and Scott, that was definitely happening.  Oh, and him being happy?  Turns out that meant he was a little shit with zero filter.

While they'd invited Danny and Issac, those two had other plans which involved Danny going back to where his parents had been buried after the accident, in his hometown on other side of the country.  They had their own unique struggles to get over, and Stiles promised they'd do something together after both their trips were done.  

Stiles turned back to stare at the road, as dense green trees passed them by.  Before he knew it, he could see the ocean just out of the corner of their eye.  Traffic got worse and worse as they drove down the Alabama highway, with other beach-goers rushing by them.  

"Thank God they're asleep.  Jackson has been a real douche this whole damn trip.  Who knew he could be like that?" Derek said in a quiet sarcasm.

Turning to the driver's seat, Stiles beamed.  

Of all the people who had changed?  Definitely Derek had gone through the biggest transformation.  While his and Peter's relationship was still strained, they managed to have dinner together every Sunday night.  He'd gotten to know his little sisters, Malia, Laura, and Cora, and had become their full time babysitter when Peter and Talia were out.  The girls loved their big brother and Stiles knew Derek loved them right back.  He'd gotten a family back that he thought long gone, and built a bridge back that he'd scorched into nothing but ash.

Then there was the book.  True to his word, Derek had started writing.  Not concrete, not publishable, but a collection of stories of Beacon Hill's history.  While many might think of it as fantasy-fiction with the werewolves, an enchantress, and warring factions, it was the true and accurate history.  Most of the stories came from Peter, and those that didn't came from Peter's family collection of Hale books.

Stiles leaned his head back, taking in a deep breath.  "I think he keeps expecting the curtain to fall down.  That all of this is just a dream, and he'll find out that all this happiness will go away.  It's defensive maneuvering.  I keep TELLING you guys to go see a therapist.  You don't live for 17 or 18 years with the threat of living as a prisoner in your town the rest of your life and not...  Well...  Be a little fucked up.  Hell, I'M in therapy with Mrs. Argent right now and I thought I would be done with that shit by now. I grew a dick, I'm thrilled, but it's a LOT to take in," he exclaimed.

"Yes, it is a lot to take in.  You make that clear several times a night," Derek said, with a playful smirk.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "Fucking hell, I've created a monster.  I think you can out-snark me!" he said, covering his mouth.  

"Babe, nobody can out-snark you," Derek replied, taking his right hand off the steering wheel and taking Stiles' hand in his.  He clenched it tightly.

Stiles sighed.  "I'm serious about the therapy though.  I wish you guys would talk with Mrs. Argent.  Even just a few sessions could get some shit out of your system. At least...  Please YOU go, for me.  I'm asking you as your mate, because I care.  I love you," he begged.

Derek groaned.  "Oh don't do that to me..." he answered, feeling Stiles clench his hand right back.

"I wouldn't say if it I didn't mean it," Stiles said, in a serious tone.

Derek pulled off the highway, turning towards a bridge that connected to the "island" they were staying at for the last leg of their trip.  

Dauphin Island, besides having the most ridiculously named homophone EVER, was a small island off the coast of Alabama.  It was a stone's throw away from Gulf Shores and the party-time, but having a pack of very temperamental werewolves in scenes where their mates might get hit on?  Yeah, no.  

Derek and Stiles stayed in silence as they went around the curves of the town, and making it to the lined rental houses right on the beachfront.  

"The blue one, right there on the corner," Stiles said, checking his phone's GPS, but not once letting go of Derek's hand.

"Fine Stiles.  I'll go.  One session.  If I think it's worthwhile, I'll go more," Derek mumbled under his breath.  

Stiles smiled quietly.  "That's all I want," he answered.

"Thank God.  I don't like it when mommy and daddy fight," Lydia said, yawning loudly as she shifted in Jackson's lap.  

"I'm not a douche," Jackson spat, leaning on Lydia's head and enjoying the scenic view with his mate.

"You're totally a douche," Allison and Scott said in unison, leaning back up and stretching out.  

"BEACH!" Allison squeaked, pointing at the scenery to the left.  

"BEACH!" Scott exclaimed, jumping up and down in the seat with his mate.

Liam and Ethan groaned in the back, unable to really stretch or do anything comfortable in the back.

"You snore like a freaking bear," Ethan said, rubbing his forehead painfully.

"Are we there yet?" Liam whined, shoving Ethan at the insult to his snoring.

Stiles sighed, realizing that of COURSE none of them had been actually sleeping.  "We're here Liam.  Calm down," he shouted, hopefully getting his message over the sounds of Jackson, Lydia, Allison, and Scott talking back and forth over the beach they were passing.  

Reaching the two-story blue rent house, Derek parked into the sandy driveway.  Before he even had it in park, everyone was OUT.

Jackson and Lydia were the first ones out, both running far faster than what most people would consider "normal".

Allison and Scott were there just as quickly, on all fours briefly until the neighbors next door start staring.  They were on Lydia and Jackson's heels.

After scrambling out of the back, Ethan helped Liam out, and they were off like a lightning bolt.  Liam was on Ethan's shoulders, holding on for dear life.

Getting out of the car NORMALLY, Stiles glanced as even Derek was walking a little faster than normal.

"HEY, FINE.  JUST LET ME GET ALL THE BAGS.  TOTALLY FINE," Stiles yelled, rolling his eyes.  Moving to the back of the van, Stiles grabs several of the duffle bags, throwing them over his shoulder.  He'd bulked up over the spring season, kicked ass on the tennis court, and gotten a hold of his new wolfy features.  No more earplugs AND he'd gotten a basic understanding of the scents.  So getting all the bags and keeping track of his friends wasn't even remotely challenging.  

What WAS challenging was holding all the bags, get the keys out of the box attached to the door, and then maneuver the key into the hole and turn it.  Like a bad first date.

Walking inside, Stiles barely had time to enjoy the tacky beach decorations over every inch of the walls before he noticed the glass doors that allowed the perfect view of the back deck and ocean outside.  

Smiling, Stiles dropped the bags all over the floor to be settled with later, and threw open the glass doors.  The warm summer air blew on Stiles’ face, and he could smell the sea air.  Kicking off his flip-flops, Stiles stepped outside on the hardwood deck, fully intending to join his friends.

Though as he got to the wooden stairs that led to the beach, Stiles was mildly shocked at what he saw.  His friends weren't playing in the water, or building things in the sand, or doing the normal beachgoing things they’d done nothing but RANT about doing the whole trip.

They just stood there.  Stood there ankle-deep in the water, letting the waves crash over them.  A lot of the other beachers watched them curiously, since they were standing in the water fully-clothed.  

Curiously, Stiles jogged down to the sandy beach, passing by a few curious onlookers.

“Guys?  You did remember to pack bathing suits right?  This is…” Stiles said, cutting himself off.

Odd didn’t even describe the situation.  They were all staring at the ocean, watching it lap back and forth over their feet.  Each and every one of them were crying in varying degrees.

Derek just had tears streaming, but was still smiling.

Lydia and Scott were halfway sobbing, trying to keep it all together.  

Jackson had his head between his knees, squatting in the water so nobody could really see his face.  

Liam was red in the eyes, but not crying as he dove headfirst into the water, swimming out into the ocean as he laughed in a joy.

Ethan flopped onto the water, laying down on his back and letting the water wash over him.  He hiccuped as he laughed, with the water hiding his tears rather well.

Stiles took his place next to Derek.  The older mate put his arms around Stiles, taking a deep breath.  "We're really here.  A beach.  A goddamn beach," he said, getting choked up.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Stiles turned to Scott and Allison.

“Told you we’d make it someday.  Now we came come any time.  Don’t even have to beg the town council.  WE can come, no holds barred,” Scott said, leaning his head on Allison’s shoulder.  

Then it hit Stiles.

This was probably the first time any of them had seen a beach.  Hell, none of them had probably ever expected to see a beach in their lifetime.  Leaving the city was HIGHLY discouraged, and trips longer than just a few days were downright banned.  There were so many fucking regulations on when and where people could actually leave without having the Beast Faction tracking them down and bringing them home.  The only reason Peter and Talia ever got to go as long as they did was the donations to the town and continued funding of the schools.  

Stiles took a deep breath, watching his friends have the same kind of moment like he’d had nearly a year ago.  

“Thanks for adding this part to the trip Stiles.  This really meant a lot to us,” Derek said, pressing a gentle kiss on Stiles’ cheek.

Stiles smiled.  "Hey, you know...  You don't have to cry about it, you big babies.  You guys realize that you can go just about anywhere now, right?  Hell, you can do whatever you want with your lives now.  If you're going to bawl about something, bawl about the fact that we've only got a WEEK here before we head to Orlando!  I mean, seriously, this place is AWESOME," he said, beaming and hoping to make the situation a little brighter.  He tried not to make direct eye contact.  “Then Disney in Florida for a couple of days before we drive all the way back home for a kick-ass summer vay-cay of Xbox and me learning how to run on four legs without falling down a hill!” he joked playfully

They all turned to Stiles, with goofy little smiles on their faces.

"It gets better from here.  You know?  It really does get better. Hell this will be ordinary moving forward.  Then you'll be like the bored looking assholes over on the beach chairs," Stiles said, giving his friends a thumbs up.

"I love you, but I'm going to move for just a second," Derek said, taking a step away from Stiles as he chuckled quietly to himself.

He was then met with 6 bodies tackling him into the water, and he screamed wildly as they all tried to hug him at once.  

+++++

They’d spent the first whole day out on the water.  Even with all his newfound stamina, Stiles was exhausted.

Yet he couldn’t get to sleep like the rest of them could.  Outside on the deck in the cooler evening, in just his pajama bottoms, Stiles sipped his cup of decaf coffee.  It tasted like ass, but was better than not drinking coffee at all.  He looked up at the night sky, with a huge full moon glowing overhead.  The entire beach was lit up, as if it were daytime.  

“Can’t get to sleep?” Derek asked.

Stiles smiled.  He didn’t jump, Stiles come to recognize his mate’s smell and could hear him coming a mile away.

“No.  Just thinking.  You know the kind of nights when you can’t get your brain to shut up?  Well, that’s tonight for me,” Stiles said, shaking his head.  

Derek hopped up on the deck’s railing, smiling quietly.  “What’s the great enchanter Stiles Stilinski thinking about?  What feat of magic will he perform next?” he asked playfully.

Stiles groaned.  “Oh God, can we PLEASE not talk about the magic?  I’m still trying to figure out how to work all this shit, Aunt Gert is the WORST teacher ever.  I don’t even know how I changed the curse, let alone how to do anything else.  I am..  I am so DONE with people asking me to just remove it outright, because I don’t know,” he said, banging his head against his mate’s shoulder.

“Fine, no magic talk.  If that’s not what the matter is, what is?” Derek said.  

After a long sip of his coffee, Stiles just shook his head.  “Jackson’s not the only one scared.  I just…  Where I came from and how I got to here?  I don’t want this to go away, and I’m…  I’m just in disbelief that I got to have this life.  I got so much more than I ever hoped for,” he said quietly.

“What brought that up?” Derek asked.

Stiles swirled the remains of his coffee in his cup.  “Today marks a year since I had my top surgery.  So…  Yeah, a lot of feelings right now,” he admitted.

Derek put his hands on Stiles’ bare shoulders.  

“Just…  I think I’m waiting on something bad to happen.  Someone to come in and tell me I didn’t deserve this luck and take everything away,” Stiles admitted, laughing to himself.

Without skipping a beat, Derek grabbed his cell phone out and started swiping through it.  He then handed it to Stiles.

“What’s this?” Stiles asked, glancing over the picture on Derek’s cell phone.  He nearly vomited on the spot.  It was the photo of himself the first day he’d gone to school at Beacon Hills.  He was about thirty pounds underweight, with the broken arm, and a faraway look he recalled all too familiarly.  

That was sad as fuck depressed Stiles.

“That’s where you were.  But now?” Derek said, swiping through his photos.  He stopped at the one they’d taken earlier that morning.  One with Derek and Stiles kissing at the local Steakhouse, with Scott and Jackson making grossed out faces in the background, while Liam photobombed.  “That’s you now.  You overcame yourself and the problems you had in your life and got this.  Then you come into our lives and fix us and our own overwhelming problems too,” Derek said, grabbing Stiles and pulling up on his lap on the deck railing.  

He pressed a deep kiss on Stiles’ lips, and then pulling back with a beaming smile.  “You’re never becoming that depressed Stiles again.  We’ll make sure of that.  You made us smile forever and ever, so we’ll do the same thing  Got it?” he asked.

Stiles nodded.  “Got it,” he answered, smiling deviously.  “So…  Midnight beach makeout?”

“Depends…” Derek said, with a playful smile.  

Stiles pouted.  “On what?”

“If you’ll marry me when we’re both ready and stable adults.  Because frankly, there’s no way in hell that I’m living without you in my life, Mr. Enchanter.  Even if we have a ten year engagement, you’re worth waiting for,” Derek asked, pulling out a thin silver band from his pajama pants pocket.  He palmed it in Stiles’ palm.

After a few moments of initial shock, embarrassing heart rate escalations, and a quiet gasp, Stiles cleared his throat.  “Well gee, if that’s all…  I guess I’m okay with that,” he answered, replacing his original promise ring with his engagement ring.  He put his promise ring on his right hand.  

“Though this brings up an interesting question…” Stiles asked.

“What’s that?” Derek asked.

“Stiles McCall or Derek Stilinski?  Maybe Stiles & Derek McLinksi?  Well, we’ve got a couple of years to figure it out,” Stiles said, laughing.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Come on…  Let’s go to bed.  Midnight Beach Makeouts are nice, but I don’t want sand up my ass,” he said.

“I know something else you’d rather have up your ass!” Stiles said snarkily.

“NOT WHILE WE’RE HERE,” a unified scream of their friends and roommates screamed from the varying rooms all over the house.

“THINK OF THE CHILDREN!” Liam whined.

Stiles pouted.  “OH COME ON!  PLUG YOUR SENSITIVE LITTLE EARS, I DID IT WHEN WE STAYED AT THAT RAT MOTEL IN NEW MEXICO!” he screamed, turning to Derek.  “For fuck’s sake, SCOTT’S the screamer.  They act like I’m loud in bed,” he said, rolling his ears.

“YOU ARE LOUD IN BED,” Ethan yelled from his room.

“TRAITOR!” Stiles screeched.

Derek laughed.  “Life with you is going to be fun,” he said, pressing a kiss on Stiles’ forehead.  

Finished growling at his roommates, Stiles turned back to his mate.  “Yeah.  It is.” he answered back with a great deal of confidence.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end! :)
> 
> I'll take a few days to work on updating a few of my other stories, and then I'll start on my next Sterek series. I'm debating a lot of different ideas, from a twin Stiles story, to a cheerleading au, to post-nogistune, to an online gaming virtual reality story, and I just... SO MANY OPTIONS! D:


	26. Liam's Lament

Beacon Hills went through a massive change the summer after Stiles Stilinski broke the Hale Curse.  

Homes all over the town were vacated, as long-trapped families moved away and onto new lives with the humans they'd long feared.  With the block on town advertising lifted, Beacon Hills saw three families move into the town, all of human backgrounds.  Several more were interested, with a booming real estate market popping up overnight.  

The City Council had disbanded entirely and re-elected on the basis of needing "fresh blood".  The factions?  A thing of the past, save for the Beast Faction who still wandered around the outer limits of town despite their falling numbers.  Of all people, Peter Hale had been elected the town's major, with the recently moved-in Gertrude Stilinski acting as his hand-picked Game and Fish Coordinator.  

Though with all the changes that took place, some things would always stay the same.

Allison and Scott's engagement was still a hot topic, with newfound "anti-tradition" protestors (the AntiTrad) arguing that the antiquated practices of the town's past (namely, mating practices) should be destroyed and replaced with more modern conventions like any “normal” town.  Though Scott and Allison's love hadn't changed in the slightest, with Allison and Scott both flipping off the likes of anyone that spoke out against them.  Most mated couples in the town acted the same, growling at any of the 30-something busibodies that tried to stir up shit.

Derek and Stiles were still madly in love with each other, though no official engagement had been announced.  They both agreed to get through college and wait for the pack to settle into their new lives outside of the town before they even thought about walking down the aisle.  Besides, Derek had nearly a hundred years of Beacon Hills history to compile into his novel series, and planning a wedding obviously came second.  

Stiles still had no mastery over his magic, and had become something of a running joke in the town.  "Where there's smoke, there's Stilinski" had been a catch phrase whenever a loud "bang" or minor explosion could be heard somewhere in the town.  He wasn’t sure what exactly he’d end up doing with his life, but was considering something in medicine if he could actually get his magic under control and focus on healing like Gert.  

Lydia and Jackson were more of the same, with Lydia still having the reigns over Jackson entirely (who loved being reigned in).  Lydia's college applications were coming back in full force by the start of the fall semester of her Junior year, and she'd already been accepted in Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and just about any ivy league school one could think of.  Still struggling with his modeling career, due to a severe lack of connections, Jackson had sent out some college feelers as well.  Despite the constant rejections, Jackson was ever the optimist and never ending in ego.  

As a shock to everyone, Ethan actually went into a massive "cram" mode over the summer and passed the examination that would permit him to start in the same grade level as the rest of his friends.  Granted, his score had been a scarce one point over the breaking point, but hey, a pass was a pass.

Which left Liam McCall, the newest addition to the McCall family.

As a freshman at Beacon Hills High, he didn't have colleges to plan for.  His future was still far away from any type of worry.

Which is why his Saturday afternoon was being spent like most of his Saturdays after school started back.  Alone.  Out in the woods behind his new home, leaned up against a tree and fiddling with his homework that he hated doing.  Algebra was the worst.  Adding letters into math should never be a thing.

Sighing, Liam felt a low-grade whine filter through his nose.  He wanted to be with the pack again.  They'd all been inseparable on the road trip, and even closer during summer vacation.  But with school back it was like they'd all drifted into their own little hobbies.

Stiles had tennis and his magic to deal with, more of the latter than the former.  The man had almost given up tennis with the prospect of having godlike power at his disposal, but kept going with it after the Tennis Coach nearly wept openly with tears at the prospect of losing him.

Derek was a senior, and had plenty of schoolwork, parties, Stiles sexing, SATs, and college applications.  All very important things that required a great deal of attention and practice.

With what felt like his parents too busy for him, and the rest of his pack all caught up in school and junior-level fun, the wimpy freshman pined for the days back on that sunny beach.  Even his school friends seemed to have all either moved away or drifted apart from Liam thanks to his part in imprisoning the Sun Faction.  He had nobody.

"Liam?  Care if I join you?" a girl asked.

Well, almost nobody.

Jumping up and getting out of his head for once, Liam turned to the strong figure of a teenage girl.  She had flowing brown hair, a kind face, and the school band's t-shirt proudly displayed.  Like Liam, she had her schoolbooks in her hands, and preferred to work in the warm outdoors.

"Paige!  Yeah, sure.  I don't care," Liam answered quietly.  

Liam had made a good friend with the McCall's next door neighbor, Paige Reed.  Like Liam, she was a freshman, and they shared nearly all of their classes together.  They'd struck up a timid friendship, given that no other wolf wanted to deal with "the human".  Plus, it helped that she was very kind and actually knew what they were talking about in English.

"Thanks," Paige said, sitting down cross legged under the same tree as Liam.  "So...  Do  you know what Mr. Carter was talking about in History?  Like...  That weird Star thingy that the city had way back when?" she asked.

Flinching, Liam laughed nervously.  "The Star Faction?   Uh...  Just a stupid town story.  They used to be a faction of people who were big on science," he said.  

Everyone in town was still getting used to having humans around.  It seemed like another lifetime since Stiles first came into their lives, and even longer before that when Danny came.  Even the teachers seemed to slip up from time to time.

"Oh.  Alright then," she replied, pulling out her notebook and opening up her algebra textbook.  "What's the matter with you, by the way?  When I walked up you looked like someone had killed your dog," Paige asked.

Liam just shrugged in response.  "It's nothing..." he replied quietly.

Huffing, Paige shook her head.  "It doesn't look like nothing!" she countered loudly.  

Groaning, Liam rolled his eyes.  Paige had this way of knowing everything, while simultaneously making it obvious every chance she got.

"Seriously, it's...  It's nothing," Liam said, trying to focus hard on his homework.

"Uh huh.  So you sitting outside for the third Saturday in a row without any of your friends is nothing?" Paige said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Can you read minds?" Liam replied, a little more snarkily than was probably necessary.

Paige turned to Liam, giving him a slanted glare.  There was no arguing with that look.

"Fine," Liam responded, shaking his head.  "It's my family, and my friends I made last year" he said, sighing loudly.  "Like I told you a while back, I'm adopted into the McCalls and made friends with my brother Derek's friends.  But...  I feel like I don't belong with them anymore," Liam said, lowering his head.  His heart churned, a low grade nausea hitting him.  "They're older than me.  We've all got different schedules and different lives.  Derek is writing all the time, Stiles is blowing up his backyard trying to learn mag- magic tricks, Jackson and Lydia are a furiously trying to find a place for them all to live around where she’s going to school at, and I just...  I feel like I'm getting left behind," he answered.

"Oh..." Paige replied, all snark removed from her tone.

Liam nodded.  "It sucks," he sighed loudly.

"Well...  I mean, maybe they're just busy right now.  If they're your family and friends, then you'll...  Wait, they’re all moving out?" she asked.

"Yeah," Liam said, shutting his algebra book.  "One of my friends, Lydia, she's...  She's going to a fancy school around Boston or somewhere like that, and so...  That's where they're all moving to after she graduates.  I-" he said, as horror grew in his gut.  Pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.

Paige glanced at him curiously.  "So if one moves, they all move?  Wow, they must be really good friends," she said.  

"Yeah...  They are," Liam said, crestfallen.  

They really were happy.  At least, they used to be.

"I'm going to be alone again," Liam finally said, as the realization finally hit him.  He felt tears running down his face.  The emptiness in his chest returned, worse than ever.  

Paige immediately went to his side, taking his hand and grasping it tightly.  "Liam..." she said, unsure of how to find the words.

Liam shook his head.  "They're moving away soon.  All of them, and then...  Then I'll be alone again..  I won't have Derek, or Stiles, or...  Any of them.  I'm losing my family...  I..." he said, slamming his head into his hands.  He could feel his fangs growing out.

What was even worse?  The time they did have left together?  None of his friends even wanted him around.  What was the point?  

Standing up, Liam left his belongings next to the tree he'd been leaning against.  He could feel his ears shifting as well as his fangs.  

"Liam?  What's wrong?  What on earth are you talking about?" Paige exclaimed, as Liam stormed off back towards the deep of the woods.  

"I'm sorry Paige...  Just...  I need to be alone right now," Liam said, sighing as he gently brushed Paige's hand away.  

"O...  Okay," Paige said, backing away from Liam.  She waited at the edge of the forest, glancing away and avoiding eye contact.  

Sighing, Liam jogged away.  He had to have been running for ten or more minutes before he felt his legs give out like jello.  Liam stopped in a nearby clearing, huffing through his nose.

"We were better off with the curse," Liam said, wiping his nose against his sleeve.  "We might have been stuck here, but at least we'd always have people here for us.  At least...  At least nothing had to change," he said, letting out a dark growl.  With his claws, Liam sliced into a tree, carving a chunk and toppling it over easily.

++++++

Honestly, Liam knew this was about as pathetic as he could get.  Sunday morning, by 11 am and he was already lined up for another lonely day.

Well, fuck that.

Laying out in his, Scott's and Derek's bedroom, Liam must have checked the message a dozen times.

His final plea.  Or something like that.  Liam was sick of dancing around the problem.  If Stiles had taught him anything, it was to always be direct.

After a final agonizing re-wording, Liam finally sent the message.

The phone blew up with responses immediately.

 

_Group Message:  "The Pack"_

_Liam:  hey guys.  anyone doing anything tonight?  Want to hang out?  I'm bored._

_Derek:  Heading to Peter's library.  Be home late.  Trying to line out chapter 24.  Sorry._

_Stiles:  hav fun!  Practicing at Gertrudes.  Staying the night.  Cooking for her and the cat army._

_Jackson:  Don't blow anything up again like last time.  I'm in the pool swimming laps and taking photos for a shoot.  danny is helping me photoshop._

_Scott:  u need it_

_Jackson:  shut it assface._

_Scott:  sorry bro I'm out with mom today then working @ shelter_

_Lydia:  @the new starbucks with Alli looking at the spring fashion.  guess we'll find out if Stiles fixed our weird stomachs or not._

_Alli:  Pray to the toilet gods if Stiles screwed up again._

_Stiles:  Ew._

_Jackson:  Ew._

_Scott:  Ew._

_Derek:  we all have irritable bowels sometimes.  Not that big of a deal._

_Stiles:  I want a wolf divorce.  Ew Derek, ew._

_Ethan:  I'm free.  I'll swing by._

_Danny:  hanging out with Douche._

_Isaac:  ditto_

_Derek:  you'd never leave me.  Even if I talked about irritable bowels brought on by coffee poisoning our systems._

_Stiles: :p <3_

_Lydia:  how cute.  You're at the irritable bowel stage in your relationship._

_Alli: <3_

_Scott:  oh my gawd stop_

_Jackson:  see what u started Liam?  Jeeeesus.   ur such a little shit_

 

Liam threw his phone down beside his bed.  Of course none of them could hang out.  Except for Ethan, they all had hobbies and lives.

Ethan, who had spent the better part of his life out in the wilderness, never knowing what a hobby was.  All he ever had was the biggest pack and faction in all of Beacon Hill-

"Hold up!" Liam shouted, as inspiration struck him.  Swinging off his bed, Liam races over to Derek's desk.  He rushed through the neatly kept files that had been organized on his desk.

Snagging the "faction research" folder, Liam grabbed at the item he'd been hunting for.  A simplistic brochure that looked as though it had been made and designed in the early 80's.

Liam picked up the old pamphlet.  Glancing it over, Liam had to do a double take over the old paper, at the memory of the faction day.  It was one of the old Beast Faction advertisements.  The kind they gave out during middle school, hoping to get kids to join them.  Each faction had them, and Derek had collected them all for his book.

Flipping the pages, Liam got to the part he'd been most interested in reading again.

 

_"The Beast Faction welcomes all with open arms.  We promote family values and the support of individualism in a pack environment._

_Living as the beasts we are, the world can never judge us.  Never fear us.  Never be able to misunderstand us._

_As beasts, we are free to do as we want and as we please.  Free of the change that the world continues to spiral towards._

_Howl in the east woods, next to the town sign should you wish to join us.  We await you with welcome arms."_

 

Liam gulped, tracing his fingers over the pictures of the local pasture.  

He'd always heard that the Beast Faction never really had any rules.  Supported any kind of sexual orientation between consenting mature individuals.  Furthermore, everyone was...  Family.  

A loud knock downstairs caught Liam's attention.

"Hey!  It's Ethan!  You home Li?"

Hiding the brochure back in Derek's folder, Liam made his way downstairs quickly and swung open the front door.

Liam smiled, watching Ethan standing there, his hands behind his head.  The man, like the town, had changed a lot.  Letting his hair grow out about like Scott's, he looked less thuggish and more like a kid their age.  For sixteen, he looked like a twenty something with his muscles on prominent display in his tank top.

In short, dude was hot.

"Hey...  What's up?  What ya' wanting to do today?"  Ethan asked moving inside and walking towards the couch.

They both splayed out next to each other, while Liam switched on the TV.

He fidgeted in his seat.  "I dunno...  You uh...  Just want to hang here?" Liam asked.

"Sure.  I'm tired from school anyway," Ethan said, yawning to bring the point home.

Liam did notice the dark circles under Ethan's eyes.  Poor guy was tired, getting used to going to school for the first time in many years.  Stiles said that Ethan stayed up late studying, all so they could graduate together.  Poor guy was exhausted.  He should be resting instead of hanging out.

Still, he could be a good source of information.

"Hey..  Eth...  Could you tell me about...  What it was like living with the beast faction?" Liam asked, finally settling the television station on a baseball game.  Ethan liked baseball, and so did Liam for that matter.  They bonded over it excessively.

"Seriously?" Ethan asked, turning to face Liam.  "Li, that's like...  Nobody ever asks me that," he said, with an awkward, yet bemused smile.

Liam nodded.  "Well, I mean...  Why not?  You know all about us, but you never really talk about yourself.  Kind of unfair," he responded.

Which, he wasn't lying.  A side effect of being a wolf for so long, Ethan never really talked much, and wasn't an outstanding ray of social excellence.  Sure he was civil, fun to be around, and the least asshole of the group, but...  Liam noticed that Ethan was more prone to listening than joining in on the conversation.

Still beaming excitedly, Ethan shifted himself on the couch, sitting face to face with Liam.  "Well...  The obvious part was that we were wolves all the time.  That sort of messes with your head a bit, since you think less humanly and more on instinct.  When my brother and I first joined back in the sixth grade, it was a really weird adjustment to make," he explained.

"Like...  How?" Liam asked.

Ethan thought to himself a few moments, before finally smiling.  "It's like...  In human society, if I were out eating with you, it would be pretty rude to just steal an entire steak off your plate just because you were distracted or unable to stop me from doing it.  In the Beast Faction?  That happened a lot.  Food was something to be earned, either through a hunt, or by showing you were stronger than someone else.  Not that Aiden and I had any trouble with that.  We were pups until we were sixteen, and always got meals given to us by Deucalion until then.  I'd just turned sixteen around March after Stiles broke the curse, so that wasn't a problem for me at all," he said.

"Oh, well that's good," Liam said, unable to really picture Ethan out hunting anything.  The guy was a total fuzzball about most things, and never so much as growled at Liam.  Sure, he liked to play wrestle as much as Derek or Scott (or Stiles, the cheating magical motherfucker), but never ever had a violent bone in his body.

"Though the big thing was the naturalism.  Deucalion never ever wanted us to feel like we were doing anything wrong by just being ourselves.  We were wild, we were wolves, we were...  We weren't really human at times," Ethan said, dropping his head shamefully.

Liam blinked confusedly.  "Like...  How?"

Sighing, Ethan shook his head.  "No natural conveniences like toilets or showers.  So we literally had to piss in the woods and groom ourselves in the pond or via tongue.  No condoms or birth control, so when people "mated", there was...  Well, there was always a litter of werebabies that accompanied them, in full shift like their mother was.  We were out in the open to the elements and sometimes had really dangerous wildlife want to come and do us all in.  But then...  I think it was because of all of that, the dangers and the shared camaraderie of being wild that made us a strong pack unit," he explained.

Cringing, Liam thought all of that sounded...  Simultaneously embarrassing and downright disgusting.  Being a wolf for a few days on the full moon was weird as it was, he couldn't imagine living YEARS in that state.  

"How'd you...  Like that?" Liam asked seriously, cocking an eyebrow and wondering how someone as good as Ethan could want that kind of life.

Though given the soft shift in his features, one of happy turning into quiet fear?  It told volumes.

"At the time?  It felt great," Ethan said, laughing nervously.  He rested his hand on his stomach, and Liam could smell the secondhand nervousness.  "My brother and I...  Well, you know we had a pretty shit life.  Bad foster parents left and right, and nobody wanted us...  Nobody wanted to deal with us, and we were basically a burden.  They actually said that to us...  The parents and the social workers...  They said we didn't belong," he said, as his ears attempted to droop lower like they did in shift.

Liam's own stomach dropped.  He could relate.  His late father hated him.  His mother abandoned him.  The new family he'd finally fought his way to get into?  None of them had a shred of time for him, save for Ethan.  Even Ethan didn't have the time, but for whatever reason, seemed to make the time.

"Living with the Beast Faction...  It filled a hole in my life, both me and my brother's life.  We had a family, a BIG family, filled with people that loved us unconditionally.  Even if it was just pack instinct and Deucalion being the man he was, it was...  It was nice to feel wanted again.  Nice to have a home, even if it was a den-cave and involved me being in a constant puppy pile with the other kids younger than 16.  Hell, it was like a heaven," Ethan said warmly.

That was all Liam needed to hear.  He reluctantly frowned, trying to pay attention as Ethan went on and on about his family and friends back in the BF.  

There really was a place he could go now.  A place he could be and not be a bother to anyone else.  Where he could find replacements for the family he would soon lose.

Though if Liam had merely glanced up, had he merely looked into Ethan's warm eyes or the way the personal space between them had been practically nonexistent?  He'd never have made the mistake he made later that night.

++++++++++++++++++

Liam hadn't shifted since the night Stiles had been bitten.  Without the full moon to force him into it, he was like most of Beacon Hills and grateful to not deal with their furry half.  Not that nobody shifted anymore.  Hell, Stiles and Derek went out on runs pretty much every week, and though he'd never admit it, Jackson was fond of sunning in the warm afternoons.

Unfortunately, Liam hadn't been one of those who glamorized the shift.  He hadn't been like Derek or Scott, with a circle of family or friends that went through the shift together.  No...  The Sun Faction had used the shift as a time to train.  To prepare for the day when they'd finally go "on the attack", and spread the curse to the world around them.

For Liam, being a wolf wasn't full of fond memories.  So, while stepping out of his clothes, Liam felt...  Terrible.  He forgot how much he actually hated being a wolf.  The posture sucked, he had no opposable thumbs to grab at things, and never really liked having his backside and manly bits so easily exposed with only a tail to cover himself.

Still, Liam shook it off and began padding off into the woods behind his home. By leaving his clothes behind, he knew the family would all think he'd just gone out for a run.  That would give him time to get across town, to the eastern grove where he'd let his howl rip.

"Here we go..." Liam thought, careful as he ran around the town.  With the humans in town, Liam couldn't be seen without spurning fear.  So he kept to the edge, all the way around until he stopped at the town's sign.  

Liam knew he was at the right spot.  Claw marks were all over the trees surrounding the expanse of trees.  

Huffing through his nose, Liam let loose a small whine.  

Everything in his body was fighting him.  His wolf didn't want him to howl.  Something was painfully chaining his chest (and throat) down to the ground.  He pictured Ethan, pictured all of his stories and his warm smile.  Liam believed it to be nerves.  The wolf was probably just nervous about leaving the warm comfort of the McCall home.

Still, the wolf wasn't in control anymore.

Forcing his snout open, Liam pulled back his head and let out a low, quiet, lonely howl.  As soft as he could manage, for fear of his friends hearing it.  He didn't need them to save him.  Didn't need them to waste any more affection on him.  It was all just too painful to imagine.

Liam pulled his head down, sitting down on his rear end.  His stomach was aching, fear and grief overwhelming them.  The Beast Faction...  The idea of them had always scared him, and yet now...  They were his only option.  He was scared of his only option.

Though he didn't have to feel that way for long.

"Pup," a rough voice spat.

Liam jumped up, backing away from the sound of the man.  His head was bowed, an old instinct that came along with being fourteen and being addressed by an adult.

Though nothing could have prepared him for the sight he saw.

The beast was bigger than any wolf Liam had ever seen in his life.  A soft grey with harsh black undertones, fur bristled with the weariness of being in the wild for fifty or more years.  Like a small car, with bulging muscles, a profound "manhood" that he didn't bother to hide, and blood red eyes.  Without a doubt, the man before him had to be him.  The leader of the Beast Faction, the only faction to be left alive after the curse's break.  The only ones holding onto "the old ways".

"D...D...  Deucalion," Liam said, his eyes doing all the talking.

"That's right," Deucalion said, his ears flickering in the wind.  His massive girth moved forward, circling around Liam.  "You're young...  What are you doing here?  I've never seen you before.  Make this quick, I'm a very busy person and have a lot of people to care and protect," he said.

Liam gulped mentally.  He bowed his head down out of respect.  "I came to live with the Beast Faction...  You..  You still accept people, don't you?" he asked.

Deucalion nodded.  "We do.  We don't turn anyone away.  My family has diminished into nothing since the curse was destroyed, and we're always looking for new blood," he said quietly.  His eyes kept glaring down Liam's entire body.  "Though...  You're upset.  Why?"

Shaking his head, Liam laid belly-down on the ground.  The Beast Faction leader was...  Overwhelming.  Yet there was some things he didn't feel like explaining, even to someone as deadly as Deucalion.

"I don't want to say.  Just...  Just take me.  I don't have a place here anymore," Liam responded, through a set of low whines in his nose.

The wolf nodded, not breaking his burning stare over the boy.  "Very well, come with me," Deucalion said, turning tail and moving through the forest.

Liam struggled to find his footing, running after Deucalion.  Though with each step, a painful throb jetted in his heart.  He didn't want to leave.  He wanted to go back, with his friends and family.  Liam wanted movie night with Derek and Stiles, hanging out at the mall with Scott and Jackson, TV with Lydia and Allison, and just...  Being around Ethan, who always made him the most comfortable.  Ethan...  He really just wanted to run back through the down, break into the Stilinski home, run up the stairs, and throw himself on the man.  Ethan would make it all better, he knew it.

Yet...  He knew Ethan was better off without him too.  Without Liam to worry about, maybe Ethan would make friends.  Maybe even find his mate, despite Ethan's insistence that he'd "already found" the perfect mate over the summer, and was just waiting for the right time to bring it up.

Gulping to himself, Liam let a low whine through his nose as he kept padding forward after Deucalion.

Change sucked.  He wanted everything back the way it used to be, like around Christmas of their last shift.  A fact that would  never happen, but something he desperately wanted.  The way he'd run with Derek and Stiles, helping the new wolf try to hone in on his nose and ears.  The party where everyone was so happy, so romantic, and their futures in Beacon Hills, while dull, still had them all together.

As much as he wanted all of that back and wanted to be a part of that again, he pictured them gone.  Gone, while he was stuck all alone doing homework in the back yard.  As much as he liked Paige as a friend, she wasn't his family, she wasn't his pack.

So despite the knife ripping through his heart, Liam followed after Deucalion.  Into the woods and into his new life.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Liam had been with the Beast Faction for a few days.  At least he'd figured it had been a few days.  He found it hard to keep track of the time, but he figured it must have been Thursday or Friday at the latest.  Nobody came for him, not that he'd expected them to or even be able to find him.  The Beast Faction moved constantly, and was very good about using their scents to make tracking an impossibility.  

Most of his time, unsurprisingly, had been with the other pups in the den.  About 12 were under the age of 10, all playful and learning how to shift back and forth.  Four or five were around Liam's age, and tried their best to be friendly and play.  The last two were older, about 18, who "guarded" the pups and cared for their needs (mostly food and drink, both which required trips out of the den).

Liam never really had any contact with the adults in the pack.  Mostly because they were all busy doing whatever the pack needed.  Hunting, fishing, gathering supplies from town, or whatever else they did.  He was a "pup".  He wasn't supposed to do anything, wasn't supposed to worry.  Just to be there, enjoy life until he wasn't a pup anymore.  

Fun was all around him.  Yet, not the fun he wanted.  They weren't his pack, weren't his friends, and weren't doing the things  that he found "exciting".

Despite all the bodies around him, he still felt alone.  Nothing had changed at all.  

Liam was mad at himself, mad at trying this stupid plan.  At least if he'd stayed home, he could've had Melissa.  Someone he actually cared for and who'd cared for him in return.  He could have had a bed.  Running water.  Clothes.  Running away had been so stupid.  He wanted to go home, apologize, and deal with the dark future coming down the pipeline.  

He could feel the embarrassing tears growing in his eyes.  One mistake and his life was over.  He couldn't go back home, that was impossible.  They'd all want to know why he'd run away, and then he'd have to lie (impossible, werewolves) or tell the embarrassing truth.  

Damned if he left, damned if he stayed.  Liam just couldn't win.  It was his fucking life to always be stuck in a bad situation unable to get free from.  He was cursed, in his own way.  From his mother, to his father, his family ditching him, and now being stuck in in a hellhole.

"You okay pup?" a wolf asked, in a low set of noises in his throat.  An adult voice, or at least, it had the authority of an adult behind it.

Liam hid his head inside of his paws, turning to face the cave wall.  He didn't feel like socializing, even if it was an adult.  The one thing about the beast faction is that they respected each other.  Respect even going down to the pup level.  If Liam didn't want to talk, nobody talked to him.  If Liam didn’t want to eat (like the last few days), nobody forced him to eat.  If Liam wanted to sulk in a corner?  They’d let them sulk in a corner.

"Please talk to me..." he asked again, the low noises turning into a whine.

Huffing, Liam threw his tail over his body, hopefully signaling that he wasn't interested in conversation.  They'd all tried to get him "involved" with the other pups.  He'd humored them a few times, and had "fun", but was sick of playing as a wolf.  One could only chase another wolf's tail before it got boring.  The smallest ones also loved to chew on his ears.

"You smell like my brother.  I haven't smelled that in a long time.  Just..  Just tell me he's happy.  Tell me he’s okay," the wolf said painfully, with a low huff.

That caught Liam's attention, and he turned his head back to meet this wolf.  He had to do a double take.  The golden coloring was a color he'd only ever seen in one other wolf in his life.

"Ethan?!" Liam said, his eyes wild with excitement.  If only for a moment, he didn't feel so alone.  He scrambled up on all fours (the first time since he’d come to the BF den), and rammed his head on the other wolf's shoulder and inhaled deeply.  Though as he did, a sickening "non-Ethan" scent filled his nose, and Liam shirked away from the horrific "non-Ethan" smell.  Like sticking one's head in a pie and being presented with the smell of brussel sprouts.

Though the other wolf didn't seem as put out as Liam had expected.  Instead, he smiled.  

"My name is Aiden.  Ethan's my twin brother.  Though I guess that answers my question that you know him," he said, padding around and sitting on his hind legs next to Liam.  

Liam plopped down as well, unable to believe how much they looked alike.  He even had the same mannerisms, the same way of "speaking".  The man’s ears even did the cute up-and-down wobbling thing when he was excited.

Aiden turned and kept his cold, lonely eyes focused on Liam.  "How's Ethan doing?  I haven't seen him since last October...  I was worried until I heard he'd been adopted by the witch-man's mother," he asked.

"Witch-man?" Liam asked, with a cocked head.

Aiden snuffed through his nose.  "The guy who changed the curse, the witch man.  Riley?  Riles?  Miles?  Something like that," he replied.

He couldn't help but snicker at that.  Stiles would love a title like that, giving his magic more importance than just being some whacky were-mage blowing shit up.    

"Ethan's happy.  He's in school and going to graduate next year.  Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski really treats him like a son, and…  I think he wants to be a wildlife ranger or something.  You know, stuff with national parks and forest preservation, he’d be good with that!  Though he’s also thinking about vet stuff like Scott likes,” Liam announced perkily.  

Aidan’s mouth curved into a smile.  “That’s great!  Has he found a mate yet?” he asked

Liam shrugged.  “I think so?  He says he thinks he found his mate over summer break but wasn’t ready to talk about it.  I guess it’s something private?” he asked.

“Ah.  Well, he’s always been kind of quiet and private.  That doesn’t surprise me,” Aiden said, as he curled up in a happy ball of fluff.  

Liam curled up beside him, their eyes doing all the talking.

“I think Ethan misses you.  Can’t you come visit sometime?” Liam asked, with a soft huff.  He recalled Ethan’s commentary about “visiting his brother” sometimes.  Though he never did, fearful of how the BF (and his brother) would react to his visit as a human.

Aiden sighed annoyingly through his nose.  "I thought about going back to him.  Thought about...  Giving the real world another try, but…  I’ve never been as brave as he was.  Even when we decided to leave back when we were younger, Ethan wanted to try another foster home, wanted to keep trying and hoping for things to get better.  Me?  I was the one who made us leave.  I was scared and wanted to hide away from the world and my problems,” he explained exasperatedly.

Teeth gritting, Liam didn’t say anything to that.  Because that was frankly what he’d just done himself.

"I think I’m too old to start over.  I’ll be seventeen next spring, and…  I’ve been gone for too long.  I couldn’t possibly go home now, that just…  Just isn’t an option,” Aiden replied quietly.

Slowly, that same old pain ebbed back inside of Liam’s chest.  Suddenly, he didn’t want to talk anymore.  He didn’t even want to be awake anymore.  A nap was all he could really want for right now.

Standing up, Liam leaned over on his side, curling up against the cavern's side again, in the corner, where he belonged.

Aiden sighed, shaking his head.  He leaned up as well, moving over and nudging Liam in the back of his neck.  He tried to get the pup up, to little avail.  Frustrated, Aiden playfully bit into Liam’s ear, earning a low growl from the pup.

Liam spun around, eyes narrowed and throat growling.

"Go back home Liam.  I’m too old to make up for my mistake, but you’re not.  Deucalion doesn't care, he's already talking about sending you back anyway.  You're not happy here, you’re just basically killing yourself slowly, and you'll die without your mate anyway.  So whatever the two of you are fighting over, you need to get over it.  When you go home,  tell Ethan I said hi and that I love him.  Now rest and I better not see your face here tomorrow,” Aiden threatened, whapping Liam in the head with his tail as he turned around.

“Home?” Liam thought.  The very thought set his feet trembling.  Wanting to dash off then and there, run all the way back and never think of this place ever again.  

Though another thought stopped him, at least for that night.  

"Wait…  I’ll die without my what!?" Liam howled, loud enough that he was sure the whole cave heard him.  While wolves didn’t flush, he could feel his face burning.

++++++++

Liam had left the Beast Faction den hours earlier.  He could have made a straight run and been home by now, but he…  Liam didn’t know how to go home.

Walking up to the door wasn’t a possibility.  How could he just…  Go home?  See Derek, Scott, and Melissa and just…  Show up after being out in the wilds for five days?!

He thought about going to Stiles, because Stiles of all people would probably be the most understanding.  Though Stiles wasn’t at home, and Ethan wasn’t there either, his obvious second choice.  Mrs. Stilinski was home, but she’d never seen Liam as a wolf before, and probably wouldn’t know how to handle him.

Allison was another kind soul, who’d probably handle things a lot better.  Though, just like Stiles and Ethan, she wasn’t home, and neither were her parents.

Reaching at the bottom of the barrel, Liam had bounded around to Jackson’s house, knowing that Lydia was probably there for Friday night “adventures”.  As much as going to Jackson or Lydia for help was downright painful, they were the best alternative.  At least, they would have been, if they’d even been home.

Liam’s head dropped after that.  All out on a Friday night, probably having the time of their lives.  Maybe they’d been worried at first, but now he was apparently yesterday’s news while they let the authorities look for him.  Not that he’d expected any different.  

So there he stood, wading through the shallow end of a nearby pond.  He had no idea what to do, how to approach everyone, or even if they still cared.

Frustrated, Liam splashed in the water for a second or two, trying to cool himself down while simultaneously hoping to snap himself out of his funk.

“LIAM!  Where are you?!” Stiles shrieked out.

Like a bolt, Liam leapt out of the pond and into the nearest bush he could find.  He didn’t know why, but it was a fear-driven instinct.

“Liam!  Liam, where are you!?” Stiles shouted again, his voice cracking in a pained tone.

Liam hunkered down in the bush.  They were all still human, their noses much weaker than usual.  It helped that his scent was dampened by the pond's water now coating most of his body.

Looking out of the bush, he could see Stiles and Derek walking alongside the edge of woods that circled the pond.  He raised his ears up, tuning in on the conversation.

"I just don’t understand…  I still don’t understand, why would he run?  Did we do or say something?" Stiles asked, running his fingers through his hair.  His face was scruffy, as if he hadn’t shaved in a few days.

Derek sighed, having grown nearly a full beard and whose shirt was covered in dirt and muck.  "I don't know...  Everyone's tense right now with the town going through so many changes, that...  Maybe he's stressed out and I didn't realize it.  I'm an ass...  I just…  I was so busy with my goddamn book project and school, and even the two of us haven’t gone out on a date for at least a week," he said, shaking his head.  

Stiles slid down a tree, crestfallen.  “We were all like that.  So comfortable, so happy to finally have a little freedom, that I think we…  We sort of just liked having our own personal time to do what we liked doing the best.  But fuck, Liam never had that!  He was stuck in that hellhole of a home, and didn’t have what we had up until then!” he yelled, hiding his head in between his knees.  “That kid ran all the way to Lilyvale on four feet, a fucking 3 hour drive by car, to try and save my life from his crazy faction.  Now here I am, practically a five minute walk from his home, and I couldn’t be there for him.  I’m a bad friend,” he choked out.

Liam felt his heart thump loudly.  “Stiles actually…  Feels like that?” he thought to himself.

Sliding down next to his mate, Derek put his arm around Stiles.  “It’ll be fine.  We’ll find him, and everything will be okay,” he said supportively.

Stiles just shook his head over and over, burying his head in Derek’s shoulder..

"I just...  I wish he could see what he means to us," Stiles said, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

Something sparked at Liam’s paw, as water seemed to come out of nowhere, pooling around his feet and creating a miniature pond.  Magic, Stiles magic, just without the explosion.

“What is this?” Liam asked himself.

Liam backed away, watching the stream's water swirl in a bright green, a wide array of circles  that seemed to show visions, other parts of the forest right in that moment of time.

The first, the one nearest to him, was Jackson and Lydia.  Lydia’s hair was unkempt, rolled up in a ponytail.  Jackson had his face covered in peach fuzz, wearing his gym clothes as they both sat and rested at a nearby pond.

“This isn’t fair.  We were all finally happy, and Liam had to go pull a shit stunt like this.  Is this my fault?  For that fucking joke I put on the end of that group text message?  Does he not realize I’m an asshole by nature, that’s who I really am!  I was so sick of being the nice guy all the time, and I thought I could be myself!  I didn’t mean to do this!  He’s like our little brother!  Hell, he IS our little brother.  He’s pack, the asshole...” Jackson asked, banging his head violently against a nearby tree.

Lydia shook her head.  “I don’t know…  I just hope nobody took him.  Even if he is a werewolf, he’s still just 14.  I know he’s not stupid, but…  There are awful people in this world, and if they hurt our Liam, I’m going to boil him from the inside out and let Stiles bring them back to life so I can kill them again,” she spat, claws out as she cleaved a chunk out of a nearby rock.

That mirror-like image faded, as another one finally came into view.  Scott, Allison and Melissa were all standing around a makeshift campfire, somewhere deep in a nearby pasture.  

“I’m going to look some more,” Scott said, standing up and stumbling over his feet.

Allison grabbed her mate, pulling him back down next to her.  “You haven’t slept in two days looking for him.  Sit down and take a nap, you’re going to be useless if you don’t,” she said sternly.

Melissa nodded.  “I know how you feel, but…  If we’re going to be out here as long as it takes to find him, you have to rest.  Otherwise I’m going to make you go home and wait with Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski to see if he comes back home,” she ordered.

Growling under his breath, Scott laid down next to the campfire, resting his head on his sleeping bag.  The man’s body was exhausted, collapsing onto itself.  

Slowly, Allison sat beside Scott, rubbing her hands onto his wearing back.  “We’ll find him.  That Paige girl told us she saw him running out into the woods, so we know he was probably just going for a run to let off steam and got lost.  The woods are big!  Don’t worry, okay?  My parents are great trackers and find lots of lost kids that pull the same shit,” she said optimistically.

“I hope you’re right…  I want him home, it doesn’t feel right without him there.  He’s like my own son, and I…  I feel like a failure, like his is my fault.  I know he’s not my real son, and I know he probably doesn't’ think of me like a mother, but…  I do,” Melissa replied, rather solemnly.

The image vanished before Liam’s face.  The very final mirror image appeared.  It showed Ethan, walking quietly by himself in the forest.  Tears were streaming down his face.  “Come home…  Come…  Home…  Please come home Liam.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry…  Just..  Just be okay, please!,” he begged.  Pleadingly.  Desperately.  

Those words cause the last mirror in the water to vanish, and Liam’s heart to plummet into the very water he was standing in.  He was sure it was that pained, cold feeling of seeing Ethan crying that caused Liam to rear his head back and let out the loudest howl he could manage.  A piercing cry, a single one-word that all wolves in the world would know.

“Here”

“Here”

“Here”

Liam was letting each and every one of his friends and family know where he was.  

Then, in an instant, he could hear Derek and Stiles running straight to him.

"Liam!" Stiles shrieked, running up and throwing his arms around the wet and freezing wolf cub, getting wet in the water himself.  He nearly strangled Liam with his newfound and untamed were-strength.

Derek was just as happy, grabbing up Liam as well and hugging him tightly.  "Good grief, you've been gone for days!  Where were you?"  Did you get lost?  Why didn’t you howl?  We would have come and got you!” he said, as both of them leaned up and allowed the teen to shift back.  Derek shared his clothing, handing Liam an oversized shirt and pair of athletic shorts from his backpack that covered them up.

Liam kept his head low, sighing quietly.  "I...  I went to the Beast Faction…” he said, in a hushed voice.

Stiles and Derek shared a nervous glare.  The sound of other howls echoed overhead, the rest of Liam’s pack seeing confirmation of the locations.

"We'll talk about it at home...  Come on, let's get you home," Derek said, gathering Liam up in his arms, and walking off back towards Beacon Hills proper.

Walking behind them, Stiles reared his head back and let out a loud howl from his human throat.  

“We’re going home.  Liam is with us.”

____________

Liam was home, all the anxieties long gone that he'd felt out in the beast faction.  Things felt right again, and he was starving beyond comprehension.  

Still, some things had to be taken care of first.  Especially the rather disgusting funk he was emanating from a lack of soap and shampoo products out in the wild.  So while Derek fixed him dinner in the Stilinski home while the rest of the pack cleaned themselves up at their own homes, Liam spent a solid hour in the Stilinski shower.   

As the last of the hot water left the pipes, Liam got out with all the reluctance in the world.

Fresh from the shower, Liam rubbed his well-washed hair with a towel.  He was in his pajamas, glancing himself over in the mirror.  His eyes was a still a tad on the glowy side.  Aside from his full moons, he'd never really stayed as a wolf for very long. He was struggling to come back full-circle, but was more or less human again.

Sighing, Liam glanced away from the mirror.  He was going to have to face the music and face the pack.  Having heard them come inside the house during his shower, Liam knew they were going to want to know why he’d been away for so long.

At least, he couldn’t smell the adults.  The Stilinskis and Melissa had given them space, much to his appreciation.  With one deep breath, Liam forced himself out of the bathroom and down the staircase.

Whatever the pack had been talking about previously, they all shut up.  All eyes were on him.

Liam kept his head down, and was immediately presented with a plate of cheeseburgers that Derek had made for him.  The teen was basically driven to the living room, with Derek pushing him forward.  Stiles wasn’t that far behind, with a few cans of soda.

He sat down at the edge of Stiles' couch, watching as the rest of his pack was staring him down.  Half of them were angry, the other half worried.  Derek and Stiles, acting as buffers from the rest of the pack, took seats on either side of the teen.

Shoving a few burgers down his throat, Liam could tell everyone was waiting for him to speak.  

"So...  How ‘bout them Cowboys?  What a lousy start to the season," Liam asked, laughing nervously as he shoved one of Derek’s burgers into his mouth.

None of them were very amused.

"Do you care to tell us why you ran like that?  Why you went to the Beast Faction, if that’s actually the stupid ass thing you did?  Do you have any idea how worried we were?  Are you that stupid, or just a moody hormonal teenage asswipe?  We were out for FIVE DAYS looking for you.  You couldn’t even just leave us a note or tell us what you were doing?!" Jackson spat immediately.  Though he was angry, he could see the soft watering on the man’s eyes.

Stiles groaned.  "For the record, Jackson, you should never be the first one to talk during emotional moments, okay?" he replied, shaking his head.  He sat down next to Liam, handing the pup a glass of orange juice.  "But Liam...  He is right.  You were running away to join the Beast Faction?  Why?!  Did we do something?  Are you not happy here?  I mean…  We all thought we worked out well together as a pack," he explained.

After chewing down the last of his latest burger, Liam took a soda can from Stiles and fiddled with it nervously in his hands.

"It's stupid.  I’m stupid, this is all stupid, can I just say I’m sorry and us not…  Deal with this?  I won’t leave again…  I just..  I don’t like talking about feelings and junk," Liam said, feeling his face burn with embarrassment.  

"Sweetie, if it made you want to run away, it's not stupid.  We’re not like your father, we’re going to listen to you and ," Lydia said, putting her arm around Liam and squeezing him tightly.  "Just tell us, please?"

Allison nodded in agreement.  “She’s right.  I mean…  Remember over the summer when we all broke down and cried over the ocean with Stiles having to watch us do that?  Seriously, I don’t think anything can top that awkwardness,” she offered.

“Or the time I cried watching Toy Story 3 with you guys and bawled manly tears all over Allison in the middle of the theatre,” Scott offered, with the most pleasant smile he could find.

“Or the time Scott cried when he saw that dead cat on the side of the road on the road trip,” Jackson offered.

“Or the time Scott pissed his pants after we watched Psycho when I was 8 and had to get a change of pants,” Derek added.

Scott’s forehead twitched.  “Or how about a time that doesn’t involve me!  How about the time in the second grade when Derek walked into the girls bathroom by accident and cried for three hours straight because he thought he was going to get arrested?” he yelled.

Derek’s forehead twitched in a similar manner.  “You really want to start this war baby bro?  Because I’ve got a full year extra ammo to fire at you, and I can and will do so!” he said with a bitter glare.

Liam snorted under his breath, laughing quietly to himself.  

The small noise silenced everyone’s bickering as they all turned back to Liam with a curious glance.

Sighing, Liam averted everyone’s direct eye contact.

"Hanging out with Derek after school was cool.  The RC was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I could...  I could be myself if only for a couple hours a day.  Then Stiles happened, Ethan broke the curse, and...  I got a new family.  A new home, and I was happy for the first time ever.  I liked waking up in the morning, because it meant we could all be together.  Summer vacation traveling around?  I'd never been happier in my life, and I cried every night because...  Because I wanted those days to last forever.  Living with my bigoted father, living with the Sun faction that hated everything and everyone that wasn’t them?  I’d finally gotten away from that, and I was…  I was grateful.  I was…  I was happy,” Liam explained quietly.

The room was quiet, Derek putting his hand on Liam’s shoulder.  There were warm smiles all around.

Except for Liam.  His face darkened.

"Though…  It’s not going to last forever.  I guess I sort of realized hat, with everything else changing like crazy around here.  You guys are leaving soon.  I'm 14 now.  By the time I graduate school, the rest of you will...  Have moved on.  You'll be starting your lives, and I'll be going to college.  I just..  I didn't want to get left behind.  So I figured that I'd be better off just...  Not going through that heartache.  That’s why I went to the Beast Faction.  I thought that maybe…  Maybe if I was a beast all the time, I could remember what it was like.  What it was like when we were still cursed, still together, still one big family,” Liam said, letting out a deep sigh.

“That’s why you left?  Because you thought we were going to leave you? Ethan asked, speaking and moving for the first time the entire evening, off in his recliner that the Stilinskis had bought just for him to have his own spot in their living area.

Liam focused on Ethan’s broken face, in nothing short of devastation.  Moments before the realization on what that face meant “clicked”, he could feel Derek’s firm hand clasp down on his shoulder.

"Liam...  You're coming with us when we leave.  I would have thought that was nothing short of obvious," Derek said, as if Liam was the single stupidest person on the planet.

Jackson groaned, slapping himself in the face.  "Jesus tapdancing Christ, is that what all of this was about?  God, you're an idiot," he said, crossing his legs.  "After everything we went through, did you really think we were ditching you?  For fuck’s sake,” he said, rubbing his forehead painfully.

Perhaps a little more candidly, Scott tried to put on a brighter smile. “Liam, I know that a lot of things are changing right now with our way of life, but pack is pack.  That’s not changing anytime soon.  What we feel, how we act?  That’s always going to be part of the beast still with us, even in our children, and our children’s children.  We wouldn’t even think of leaving you, it’d be like abandoning a part of our soul,” he answered.

Allison, already on her feet and behind Liam, was hugging his neck without much consideration for his ability to breathe.  She didn’t say much of anything, just providing a pack member’s comfort for his heart.  

“R…  Really?” Liam asked, clearly flabbergasted by the news.

Ethan nodded.  "The plans aren’t final, for obvious reasons, given that it’s still two years away.  In short, we haven’t met about it because we’re not all that sure.  But frankly, Lydia's gotten accepted at a college in Boston.  Stiles got accepted to one not all that far away from hers, and I can probably find one as well once I have a GPA to submit to them.  Jackson's still not got an agent, but he figures he can find one farther east, and if not, then work on a degree in the meantime.  Scott’s still figuring out if there are any shelters nearby, or animal programs that would need someone with his natural expertise that the Beacon Hills animal center directors could recommend him to.  Allison is thinking of going in medicine, and there are plenty of programs around the area that could cater to that.  Melissa, Peter, Talia and the girls all want to move as well, to get away from the Hales and the ridiculous past that haunts them.  Mom and Dad, as well as Aunt Gert all want to move too, somewhere peaceful and where everyone can have a new start at a normal life,” he explained calmly, quietly.  

Derek was beaming.  “You're coming with us, and you'll move into a new high school.  A uh..  A human high school.  Lucky bastard, you’ll get what the rest of us could never have," he said, beaming brightly.  

The atmosphere in the Stilinski home changed instantly.  Liam’s body and shoulders relaxed, and all was as it was just like that warm summer day months earlier.

“Asshole.  You actually thought we’d leave you?  You’re our fucking annoying little brother, you ass.  I’d cut off Scott’s left arm for you,” Jackson said, crossing his legs and turning

Liam let out another laugh as Scott’s mouth gaped open in horror.

“Love you too Jackson,” Liam answered with all the sincerity the world could muster.

+++++++++

The pack, for obvious reasons, stayed the night in the Stilinski home.  

Claudia came home for a few moments, to hug Liam’s neck and create makeshift sleeping arrangements downstairs.  She and Stiles made several cups of coffee (because, surprise, one of Stiles’s attempts to fix the canine stomach issues actually worked!) and hot chocolate for the group, while everyone turned on whatever Disney film they could find from Stiles’ collection.

Though sometime during the night, Liam found himself wandering off towards the side of the room, and leaning up against Ethan’s recliner.  Until Ethan climbed off the recliner and joined him on the floor.

They were touching, shoulders leaning against each other.

Ethan put his arm on Liam's shoulder, pulling them together.  It felt right, felt like…  Home.

"I won't let you be alone.  Ever,” Ethan said, leaning his head against Liam’s shoulder.  

Looking out at the rest of the pack, they were all in similarly comfortable positions.  Stiles was in Derek’s lap, appreciating the movie before them, while Derek’s arm was wrapped comfortably around Stiles’ waist.  Jackson’s already asleep head was tucked in Lydia’s lap, while Lydia carefully drew pictures on his face with a black marker, as well as press several embarrassing lipstick kisses on his forehead.  Scott and Allison were in the kitchen, pecking kisses between each other while fixing the latest set of cocoa for everyone still conscious.  

While there wasn’t as much in the way of intimacy between his and Ethan’s interaction as everyone else’s, there was a certain…  Closeness.

Suddenly, what Aiden had said back in the Beast Faction den made a lot more sense.

"Are you my mate?" Liam asked, out of nowhere.

Ethan seemed to smile a little at that question.  Though he shrugged in response.  "It's not strong enough yet to be sure, bond-wise.  You’re young, and we haven’t spent an extensive amount of time together.  But I do know that when you were gone, I felt like absolute shit.  When we were together during Summer break, in that third row seat, I felt comfortable," he responded.

Liam felt his heart flutter.  He’d felt like shit away from the pack, but he wondered if maybe it was just being away from Ethan that made him feel that way.

“Do you…  Do you want me as a mate?  We don’t live in a werewolf city or society anymore.  You don’t have to feel pressured by the old ways,” Ethan replied quietly.

Flushing, Liam didn’t bother to mention how Ethan had grabbed his hand, squeezing it in a warm embrace.  

There was no denying the attraction, or the peace he felt between himself and Ethan.  Ethan was handsome, kind, and was there for him.  Which, explained how he always managed to make time.  He must have known for a while, probably since summer vacation if his statement about his mate being “private” was any indication.

Liam slowly looked away.  “I uh…  I mean…  I kind of…  Yeah I do..  You’re like really…  Nice and fun and you’re like a hunk and stuff,” he answered, rather embarrassingly.  Though he clutched as his heart.  “But…  How come you didn’t tell me until now?” he asked.

Ethan sighed, massaging his forehead painfully.  “You were barely 14 when I realized it.  I’m 16 and a Junior.  Even though two years isn’t much of an age difference, it still felt…  Well, it felt like I’d be pressuring you into something, because of how the old wolves did things.  I wanted you to have a chance to have a regular high school experience.  Dating other people, having fun with new friends, and just…  Having a normal life, like we’ve all wanted.  The last thing I wanted was to stick you into what we’d all just gotten out of,” he replied.  Slowly, he let out a pained sighed.  “Though seeing you run away because you were lonely?  Maybe it wasn’t right of me to make that decision for you, but I…  Sorry, I’m still not all that good with people,”  he answered quietly.  

Laughing quietly, Liam nodded.  “Apparently I’m not either.  I guess we both misunderstood the situation we were in,” he answered jokingly.  

Ethan nodded, a soft smile formed on his face as Liam gripped back into his hand.  “So…  Where do we go from here?” he asked.

“I suppose…   We could, you know…  At least attempt to go on a few dates or something?  If you want to, that is?” Liam asked.

“I’d like that very much,” Ethan responded warmly.

“Tomorrow night?  Mr. Oum’s place?  Maybe we could get Lydia to go psycho as a matchmaker again?” Liam asked with a playful smile.  Ethan laughed as well, snickering at the picture of Derek and Stiles’ first date that hung on the nearby wall.

“I heard that,” Lydia said, throwing the marker across the room and striking Liam on the forehead.

Derek and Stiles laughed from the couch.  

“Trust me, you do not want a Lydiapalooza,” Stiles said, shaking his head.  

“I felt like I was in one of Stiles’ anime obsessions with all the goddamn flowers,” Derek said.

Stiles giggled to himself.  “Beacon Hills High School Host Club!  And I’m the charming, annoying, and generally respected club president everyone has to love!” he answered proudly.

“What the fuck is he talking about?  Lydia, please shut him up,” Jackson grumbled sleepily, wiping at his marked up face.  Several phallic (and anatomically correct) dicks smudged as he wiped, only making the drawings bigger than they were before.

Allison and Scott returned from the kitchen, as the both passed out piping hot mugs of coffee and chocolate.  

“I think you two will be adorable together.  You’ve both got similar backgrounds, and I think you’d both relate to things that nobody else could,” Allison said, handing the two of them hot chocolate.

“Just expect an awkward talk from mom.  No sex ‘till you’re both of consenting age, that’s her only real rule about dating, and about as fair as you can get, really.  Especially given that Ethan’s the son of a Sheriff,” Scott added.

Stiles nodded.  “Oh yeah.  Ethan, you can expect one too.  God, when I was thirteen, Dad was so super fucking awkward about it.  Mom had to come in halfway and tag him out,” he joked.

“Oh joy,” Ethan said, rubbing his forehead.

“Just throw me out a window now,” Liam added painfully.

They both leaned on each other for similar support.

++++++++++

Liam was home safely.  Aiden, having followed the pup the entire way during his journey at a safe distance, smiled.  

Looking inside the home had been a touching confirmation.  His brother was okay, the kind pup was his brother’s mate, and they all lived in a loving, wonderful home.  Full of friends, full of love, and…  Ethan had a home.

It was all he could have hoped for.  

“Good.  I’m…  I’m glad,” Aiden thought to himself.

Though his time to stare had come to an end.  He’d been watching them all night, and the sun was just starting to peak off in the distance.

Aiden stopped staring inside the house, turning away from the inside.  He moved to step away, until a set of footsteps stopped him in his tracks.

“You must be Aiden.  Ethan’s told me so much about you!” a woman said kindly.

Turning back, Aiden was met with a tall brunette.  It must have been the witch-man’s mother.  

The woman stepped forward, holding her hand out.  She had a soft scent about her, a kind one.  Not unlike Deucalion, she had powerful eyes.  The eyes of someone with endless love and compassion.  

“Sorry, I just know Ethan’s wolf half like I know my own son’s.  You look just like him, and…  Oh goodness, why don’t you stay for breakfast?  I’m sure Ethan would love to see you again, and we’ve got plenty of room.  I don’t understand all the things about pack or whatever, but…  I’m sure everyone would love to have you as a guest, at the least,” Claudia said warmly.

Now was the point where Aiden should have ran.  Ran off into the night, back into the forest and back to Deucalion.  The Beast Faction was disbanding as it was, with hardly anyone to handle the mess.  Deucalion couldn’t do it alone.  He needed help.  He needed.

“Go home.  I’ll care for the rest until they find their homes.  You’ve found yours.”

It was a low, loud, unbearably forceful howl that shook Aiden down to his very core.  As if gravity was bearing down on him.

Aiden’s ears piqued.  The howl was Deucalion.  There wasn’t a mistake about that at all.  More importantly, there wasn’t a mistake that it was a direct order.  

His face must have said it all, as Claudia bent down to his level, running her hands through his muzzle fur.

“Hey?  Any brother of Ethan’s is a son to my husband and I.  We already discussed it previously.  We’ve always wanted a houseful of children, and now maybe we can finally have that,” she said happily.

Something about her words were stronger than even that of Deucalion.  

Before Aiden knew it, he was being drug into the Stilinski home, where the smell of an already cooking breakfast awaited him.  Something that smelled a hell of a lot better than the wildlife he’d been used to hunting.

“Shower is on the second floor, and Ethan’s room is right next to it.  He should have some clothes if you’re interested in shifting, but if not, then not a problem.  Just an option,” Claudia said, averting her nose from Aiden’s rather pungent wet dog scent.

Aiden, for the first time in a very long time, felt embarrassment creep up his face.  He…  He really could use a shower.  And some clothes, and…  A warm meal.  

Glancing up from the ground, he was me with gazes from what must have been the crumbling remnants of the Night Faction.  The McCall/Hale offspring, a blonde with black drawings all over his face, a warm brunette, and a hot-blooded red head.  

And…  Of course, Ethan and Liam, sat next to each other at the dining room table.  Their eyes seemed to be the only ones who knew who he was.  

“Ai…  Aiden!” Ethan exclaimed, scrambling up from the table and tripping twice before he threw his arms around Aiden’s neck, hugging him as much as he could manage.

He wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but Aiden felt his body slowly relax.  His fur receded, muzzle gone, and his dirt-crusted and tanned human self returned.  Aiden’s uncut hair went down to his backside, having not been cared for in years.  Like Ethan had been coming out of an extended shift, Aiden was bone-thin, his human self not having actually eaten in years.

Aiden tried desperately to form words.  He tried to summon them from the depths of his throat, with only cracks and the occasional stuttering mess escaping.  Without having used his muscles for years, he couldn’t do much of anything to communicate.  He wanted to tell Ethan how much he missed him in the past year, how much he was glad his brother was happy, how he wanted that happiness too, how he wanted a family again, wanted to try one last time, and…  That he wanted to have a relationship with his twin again, go to school, and just…  Start over.

“E-...Et-....  Eeeee….t.a…” Aiden cackled out, silenced as Ethan laughed.

“I know Ai.  I know, you don’t have to say anything,” Ethan said, chuckling as he stripped off his nightshirt and covered up Aiden’s bottom half by tying it around his thin, bony waist.  He supported the starving male up to his feet, with Liam coming to support his other side.

“Aiden?  Holy crap, are you okay?” Liam asked worryingly.

Smiling, Ethan nodded on his brother’s behalf.  “He’ll be fine Liam.  Help me get him up to the shower.  Mom, can you fix him something with a lot of protein?  Eggs mostly, he’s not going to have the strength to digest much of anything until he gets his strength back,” he said, as he and Liam moved to help him up the staircase.

“I sure can!  I’ll have everything ready shortly!  Mr. Stilinski should be off his shift soon, so we’ll all have a big family breakfast.  I’ll call Melissa, and Peter’s family too!  This is such a lovely occasion to pass up!” Claudia announced, patting Stiles and Scott on the backs.  “Come help me boys, I’ll need it today if we’re having this many people,” she ordered.

Aiden was surprised to see a few other bodies come to assist.  Namely, Peter Hale’s oldest son, and the brunette teenage girl.  

“Thanks Derek, thanks Allison,” Ethan said, as they all virtually hand-carried the man up the stairs.

“I’ll get in touch with our were rep in the new city council.  He’ll need his stored records that got sealed when he left, and probably some doctored transcripts.  My mom can handle the latter,” Lydia said, pulling out a flip phone from her pocket.

A low growl erupted from the downstairs, from the blonde.  

“Why are there fucking DICKS on my face?” Jackson roared.  

“Scott did it,” Lydia said seriously.

“YOU FUCKER,” Jackson screeched, already barreling towards the kitchen with Scott screeching for Claudia’s protection.

Aiden didn’t even realized he’d made it into the bathroom, or that they’d all dropped him into the bottom of the shower, with just his brother remaining with him.  He’d been too distracted by the commotion going on downstairs, and the feeling of…  Belonging.

Switching on the water, Ethan let the shower beat down over Aiden, where the dirt began swirling down the drain.  The warmth of the water on his body seemed to sap all the weariness out of his body.

“Don’t talk much.  Mrs. McCall has a tea brew that can soften your throat muscles and help get them into shape.  It’s like riding a bike though, your human half still has the muscle memory, they’re just…  A little weak right now,” Ethan explained, gathering up Aiden’s ridiculous hair length.  Using an unsheathed claw, he cut a majority of it off, leaving just enough length to provide a proper cut later.  “You’re going to feel like shit for a few days, believe me, I went through all of that.  Just keep eating protein, try to gain some weight back, and your body should naturally get back to itself in a week or so,” he explained.

Aiden nodded, barely objecting as his brother helped soap a majority of his body.  Though he avoided most of the private areas, Ethan was able to get a majority of the muck off without much of a fuss.  

“Things are different now Aiden, things are…  Things are going to be okay, I promise.  I know you’ve been through a lot, we both have, but I promise…  They’re different,” Ethan said, shaking his head as he moved to rinse off he shampoo from his brother’s hair.  

Wordlessly, Aiden let his eyes close.

“I know,” Aiden thought to himself, before he felt his body finally give out and collapse against Ethan.

Chuckling, Ethan just shook his head.  “Welcome home Ai.  Welcome home,” he thought to himself, his heart cheering in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a few big things. 
> 
> #1: Based on how people like this little extra tale to the story, I might do another one. Let me know if you want to see the story continued! :)
> 
> #2: Of course Paige would be a good friend. There are so many times I wanted to write her in, because I ADORE her character, but I never know how to do it! :3
> 
> #3: Ever since I wrote Ethan/Aiden into the story, I wanted to bring Aiden home too, but it never made it into the plot, so here we go! :D


End file.
